Blissland
by CandleHeadButt
Summary: One Shot Requested Story- A late night party soon turns into chaos when a guest decides to turn Niceland upside down. But is it really ALL that bad?
1. Chapter 1- Hey Baby

**A/N: This one goes out to Miratete who inspired me with their own Blissed tales, including 'The Mayor's Mistake'. Hopefully this trek with being Blissed will be just as entertaining! **

* * *

Chapter One – Hey Baby

"Quitin' ti-!"

"**_FELIX, WE GET IT!_**"

Felix couldn't help but let out a snicker as he heard Gene pout from beside him, the little mayor covered in leaves and ashes from his latest romp from the bonus stage.

"Now MAAAYOR…." The other man cooed playfully "What did we tell ya about lettin' your temper fly? It's not good for your health, ya know!"

Gene huffed, following Felix and the others down the stairs, "And getting thrown and blown up ISN'T!?"

"It doesn't look THAT bad!" chuckled Tony, the air-headed Nicelander always gleefully missing most of the anger in Gene's voice "I mean, it's not like you get blown THAT far, Genie! You ALWAYS land over by the trees!"

"**_ANTHONY._**" Gene growled but he turned, placing a hand ROUGHLY on the younger Nicelander's shoulder "If it looks that fun to you, why don't YOU try it for a day.**_ HMM?_**"

A huge smile appeared on Tony's face, completely unaware of Gene's sarcasm "REALLY?!"

"Don't even think about it…" giggled Lucy, already removing the stiff coat she was required to wear on the job "But seriously, Gene, lighten up! The day is over an' now you can finally hug an' kiss MAAAAAAAAARY!"

Gene blushed, looking down at the ring on his finger. He was so happy to see it there and it reminded him that no matter what, no matter how many times he got thrown out the window, no matter how many times he was blown up, there was always someone there for him.

Someone he cherished and held close.

A dopey, love-struck grin began to form on the mayor's face as he strutted his way back to his apartment, no longer caring that he was a complete mess.

"So I guess you're takin' my advice, HUH?" snickered Lucy, shaking her head.

Finally arriving back home Gene knocked on the door, walking in with a devilish smile.

"Is the LAAAADY of the house in?"

Already readying herself for the night, Mary turned with a squeak as Gene came in but her shock quickly wore off and she let out a laugh before running over to her love.

"Oh NOOO! There is a grass covered man in the apartment! Let me grab a frying pan so I can bust your skull with it, **_INTRUDER!_**"

Gene caught Mary in his arms, giving the woman a long loving kiss "Hello darling."

"So, you managed to make it through another day I see…" the pink Nicelander giggled "Good! I wouldn't want to spend the night alone!"

"Ah, HAA! Of course not!" the mayor chortled, pulling a stick from his collar "But seeing as you've already thrown out the hat, is there something special you want to do tonight? You seem like you have something on your mind."

"Special?" Mary beamed, a playful look in her eyes "You want **_ME_** to plan something special?"

"Why of course!" Gene grinned, a little taken aback by how his fiancé had responded "Is there something you want to do?"

Mary thought for a second as she continued to rest within Gene's arms "Hmmm, well…we only have a few days before…THE EVENT."

The event?

The wedding.

Gene smiled brighter than he had ever had in his life, his heart flittering as he just imagined the wedding. He kissed Mary on the head, snickering again.

"Come on baby, I know there's something you want to do…."

"A PARTY!" the woman shouted like an over-excited child "I want to plan my OWN party before the wedding!"

Gene was a little stunned by the declaration but he quickly recovered, laughing richly "My dear, it seems that we are two minds that think alike! But do you think anyone will show up on such short notice! I mean, with the weekend coming up and all, people are bound to have other things planned and-!"

"Oh, I don't care!" Mary cried in jubilation, spinning Gene around "I'm just so HAPPY right now I have to do something! Call up everyone we know! Gather up all our best snacks and drinks! Put on your best party outfit! We have to do this now!"

"Goodness, calm down dear!" Gene said as he took the woman by her sides, pulling her close "Parties do take a bit of organization you know! We wouldn't want things to get carried away an-!"

Before Gene could even finish Mary leapt up and kissed him, the man quickly becoming lost as he melted in her hold. She pulled away, humored to see Gene looking about with a dopey grin on his face and lip stick smeared on his lips.

"So, everything will be set up in the next hour or so?" the woman asked sweetly.

Gene just swayed, still in a loving dream from the kiss "Huh? What for you say pie lady?"

* * *

As promised, Gene came through with his darling's party and even if the turnout was small, Mary couldn't have been happier. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they danced away in the penthouse of Niceland, Nicelander and other characters alike helping themselves to the wide array of drinks and goodies the couple had to offer.

"Ya know, it seems like parties here are getting' better since Mary an' Gene hooked up!" chuckled Ralph as he munched on a large slice of cake.

"Aw, I've seen better!" pouted Vanellope "I mean, they won't even lemme DRINK here! What kinda service is that?!"

"The RESPONSIBLE kind, young lady…" Felix said, crossing his arms "Ya may be president of your game but you're still NINE YEARS OLD! An' I don't care if the drink is candy themed. NO. ya CAN NOT hav'a drink."

"But FEEEEEELIX! It's not FAAAIR!" the girl whined, trying her best to appear cuter than normal "Why can't I have anythin' here! I can handle-!"

Ralph then placed an ENORMOUS plate of éclairs on Vanellope's lap, the girl's eyes growing huge as she looked upon the delectable delights.

"OOOOH, chocolate cream!" she said before digging into the pasties, a look of pure bliss on her face.

"Nice work, big guy…." Calhoun chuckled.

"Hey, gotta let her have a lil fun." the man winked.

As the hours continued, it became apparent to those who hadn't sampled too many drinks that perhaps there were some who had over-indulged in their enjoyment. Of course, with Gene in charge of drinks it would be a miracle if ANYONE left the party still able to see straight for as the party went on, the man only made up MORE and MORE drinks.

And being the person he was, he was always happy to sample a glass or two (or three or four) of his own creations.

"Geeeeeeene…." Mary giggled with a drunken smile "Slow down chubby, before ya pass out!"

Gene continued to dance along with Mary but he did so while downing TWO glasses of a spicy caramel cocktail, CHUCKING the glasses on the wall after he was done!

"Slow down? HA! I ain't slowin' down for NOTHIN' baby!" the man said, grabbing onto Mary and SHOVING her into his chest "Le's DANCE!"

"**_WOOO! GO GENE!_**" cheered Tony all before the man fell on his face, rolling over towards Lucy before going out like a blown light bulb.

"Hey GEEEENE…." the girl cried from across the room "I think Tony DIED. What should I do?"

"_Unngh!_ _I'm not dead…._"

From afar, Ralph and Vanellope were watching everything unfold as if it were some form of entertainment.

"Wow. I knew ya said that Gene REALLY like ta put 'em back, but I never thought it was like THIS!"

"This? Ha, this is when he's HAPPY. Ya wanna see something crazy, ya should check him out when he's PIS-!"

"RALPH!" called Felix, surprised at the wrecker's choice of words.

"C'mon Felix, babe!" Calhoun snickered as she smushed her hands in her husband's face "Live a lil an' enjoy tha party! We dun hafta work tomorrow!"

Felix sighed as he lowered his wife's hand from his face "My dear, I do believe you have had one too many drinks. Don't you think it's time for us to leave?"

"But babeeeee…." The marine pouted, sipping the straw innocently "I t'ought ya were enjoyin' tha party!"

"Tammy, you're drunk. Ya need ta go ta bed!"

"No I DUUUUUUN!" whined the marine as Felix dragged her towards the door "I-I just need ta wait till tha al-key-hall fades! Then I'll be-!"

SLAM.

With a loud bang, the penthouse doors shut but other than Ralph and Vanellope, no one else seemed to notice, the others dancing about happily.

"So, how long do ya wanna bet something stupid is gonna happen?" smiled Vanellope.

"I give it about three minutes!"

"Demitri, UGHR!" cried a voice from a far.

"_I give it about three SECONDS…._"

Not too far away from the dance floor, a trio of characters milled about trying their best to enjoy the party, TRYING being the phrase since ONE of the members was so inebriated that the other two couldn't make heads of tails of what he was talking about.

"I'm tellin' ya Mori!" the man said, a drunken smile on his face "Ya ain't lived till ya tried one of these AB Positive Bloody Maries!"

The woman rolled her eyes, the wings atop her head folding in annoyance "Seriously, this is why I don't like hanging out with out at places like this…an' don't call me MORI…"

Demitri frowned not unlike a child who had been caught saying a bad word "But I think it's cute!"

"Look, do I really need ta drag ya home now? From the looks of things, it seems like I do!"

"Sissy, calm down…" whispered Lilith, feeling all the more nervous with the way things were unfolding "These people were nice enough to invite us here. I'd hate to think what would happen if we were to leave with a bad impression…"

Morrigan took Demitri by his collar, dragging him towards the door "If there is ANYONE who's gonna leave a bad impression, it's this fool here!"

"But Moriiiiiiiii! I was just startin' ta have fun with tha little fat baby people!"

DING!

Someone heard THAT line!

Even in his drunken state, Gene was able to catch the comments of the muscular Vampire, turning around and marching up to him!

Well, Gene THOUGHT he was marching. For all everyone could see, he was actually STAGGER towards the large man.

"H-hey HEY! We are NOT BABY PEOPLE! We are full grown *HIC!* adults!" the mayor frowned, crossing his arms as he swayed a bit.

Demitri let out a laugh "Phhft! Is it MY fault that your de'ingers made ya all so cute an' bouncy?"

"Heeeey, didn't someone call Deanna bouncy?" laughed a drunken Meg "I don't understand why…"

"MEGAN."

Gene snorted as he looked up at the man, pointing towards him but nearly falling over as well "Haaaah! I was plugged in WAAAAY before ya were even DRAWN out on paper mah booooy! So th-think before ya call someone a BABY!"

"Gene, stop!" Mary called as she ran up to him "Stop yellin' at people an' getting drunk because you're mad!"

The woman stopped, realizing what she just said.

"Wait, rearrange that…"

Gene leaned HEAVILY against his fiancé, all thoughts and memories of what had taken place previously forgotten "_Can I rearrange your bra?_"

"Sorry guys…." Morrigan sighed, pulling Demitri by the ear "He's usually much more behaved than this!"

"I'm not misbehavin'!" the vampire roared in annoyance "It's not MY fault I can't tell the difference between a Nicelander an' a BABY! I CAN MAKE BETTER PEOPLE IN MY-!"

SLAM!

Another group of guest gone.

"Dear? Don't cha think we should close up for the night?" asked Mary "I-it's so late now!"

Gene took a hold of Mary tightly, nuzzling her "Babe, I will stay up til my brain fries in mah SKULL for ya!" and with another drunken laugh, Gene tried to pull himself on the dance floor, missing it completely and falling on his side.

"Geeeeene?"

The mayor was laughing uncontrollably now, his little legs kicking in the air "A-ah ha! AH HA! Everything is so WONDERFUL down here!"

Ralph rubbed the back of his neck as he watched Gene continued to kick and flail on the floor, the man only standing up once he had grabbed a hold of a nearby chair. Even he knew it was getting late and he felt horrible for letting Vanellope stay up for so long but what could he do? After all, with everyone so out of it who knew what could happen if he left.

Vanellope let out a tired yawn, the wrecker looking down at her.

"Seems ta me Tammy isn't the only one who needs ta go to bed…" the wrecker said softly.

"But Raaalph, I'm not sleepy…." The girl replied, her eyelids feeling heavier by the second.

Ralph shook his head as he picked the girl up, her head resting on his shoulder "Nope! You ain't gettin' outta this one PREEEZ!"

With one final look, Ralph headed out the door, leaving everyone else in the party alone. Still a bit nervous Ralph looked over towards Felix's apartment, the door closed.

"If somethin' happens….I'm sure he'll get to it!" the man reassured himself, continuing his way towards Sugar Rush.

Back at the party, things were slowly starting to calm down, the Nicelanders all having succumbed to their enormous drinking binge.

"H-Hey, Nory?" asked Nel, the woman lying on her back on the floor.

"Hmm?"

"Have I ever told ya I think those sweaters of yours are actually hot?"

"I-I wear 'em for ya, baaaaabe…." The drunken red-head said, petting one of the decorative flower pots instead of Nel's head.

Nel managed to roll on her stomach, her huge afro dropping in her face. She then crawled over to her neighbors, FORCING her way through the bottom of his sweater only to pop up through the opening at the neck.

"Oh my GAAAAAWD, this feel so WAAAARM an' FUUUUUZY!" she smiled, nestling into the man's sweater.

Yeah, she was PLASTERED.

Gene and Mary continued to sway on the dance floor, Gene on the verge of simply falling over backwards at any moment.

"Dear?" the woman slurred "Ya wanna know somet'in?"

"**_HANH?_**"

"This was da BESTEST-EST party we have EVER had!" the woman said, throwing herself atop Gene.

"**_NYAAAAAAAGH!_**"

WHOMPH.

Gene landed with a little bounce as Mary rested atop him, nuzzling her nose right in his face.

"Mmmm, you smell like Gene Mayor Blueberries!"

Helpless and unable to move, Gene found that he could go nowhere in Mary's hold but after thinking it over for a while, was there really a reason why he would want to? Still grinning like an idiot, Gene rested his hands on Mary's back.

"_I love you person I can't wait to maaaaarrr__**SNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRK!**_"

And out like a light he went.

Mary looked down at her slumbering fiancé, a little grin appearing on her face. She then took hold of his cheek, pinching it playfully.

"He's like a little drunk ANGEL!" and after maneuvering herself to get more comfortable atop him, Mary fell asleep as well.

Everything was quiet now. The other guest had all but vacated the apartment and the Nicelanders had all drifted off in various places in the penthouse.

For a first timer, Mary had indeed planned a successful party.

But even as they slept the fun wasn't about to end.

In the still of the night, a shadowy figure staggered their way through the tunnel of the games, half trying and half failing in its attempts to look stealthy.

"I know what ta do…." It said to itself "I KNOW what…TA DO!"

Hands rose in the air, a bright aura surrounding them.

One move to the left, another to the right.

Whoops! Almost fell over that time!

One step, two step! AND-!

***POOF!***

A light shot towards the penthouse, bathing it in a strange glow and a puff of smoke. The figure grinned as it staggered back towards the entrance.

"Th-there! Now it shouldn't be too hard to-!"

Urgh, the hangover was starting to kick in!

_"Blurgh, must….fight off….encroaching…..sleepy time…."_

And after curling up behind a bush, the unknown assailant fell asleep.

* * *

There is something about the morning in Litwak's that always puts a shine in the characters that live in the arcade. The bright rays of sunlight were so beautiful, they were so peaceful….

They were burning brightly into Mary's face.

"NUUAARGH! NATURAL LIGHT!" the woman moaned, shielding her eyes as she remained scrunched upon the body of her fiancé. The woman rolled from Gene, landing rather hard on her face as she felt the wave of nausea hitting her. She was starting to regret her little idea for a 'party' if only because she had never really partied this hard in her life.

Oh, there was the occasional shindig here and there where she would get a little tipsy, but now?

"_I think I'm gonna vomit…._"

The woman FORCED herself off the ground, her body feeling heavy and shaky. She wiggled her left foot, feeling that it was free from the fancy pumps she usually wore. Another moan escaped her throat as she clutched the ground.

"Why is it always the left shoe? WHY?!"

A few other moans began to echo throughout the pent house, Mary recognizing them as her fellow Nicelanders. Even though she did feel a bit sorry for them, part of her was happy to know what she wasn't the only one in the apartment feeling ill.

"Mmmn, I just want a bath then a naaaaap….." the woman said grumpily as she finally began to stand. Not surprisingly she began to stagger a bit, her mind and body still reeling from everything she took in from the other night. She took a step forward but found herself unable to find any sort of groundings on the floor. Mary squeaked, flailing her arms about as she finally managed to regain her balance.

"W-what is this?!" she asked herself "It feels like I'm walking on STILTS!"

Mary cautiously made her way towards the door, her hands reaching out and scrabbling for the knob.

"Gene….GEEEEENE!"

No reply.

"Oh, get up ya big blueberry!"

"**_SNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRK!_**"

The woman growled as she turned, seeing the familiar leather shoes of her fiancé from behind the couch, out like a light as usual.

Great, this was JUST what Mary needed to deal with now. The mayor was hard enough to wake up when he WASN'T drunk but now it would be impossible!

"C'moooon! I'm achy and tired and I just want to sleep on something that ISN'T the floor!" the woman whined as she staggered back over to the mayor but as she rounded the couch she halted in her tracks. She looked down at the figure, her eyes widening in shock and her mouth dropping.

"W-w-WHAT?!"

Gene turned over on his side, still asleep but slowly coming to.

"Ungh, but mamaaaa! Norwood was the one who took my cookie!"

Mary continued to look down at the figure below her.

This man…WASN'T GENE!

She hobbled backwards in shock, only to trip on the carpeting and land on her butt with a little shout, her mind racing to what was happening!

"G-Gene?!"

Gene continued to mumble in his sleep, seemingly unable to hear the cries of his petrified fiancé.

Mary began to look over, realizing that EVERYONE she saw in the penthouse looked like strangers to her! On the left was someone who had taken the spot of Deanna and on the right, someone who had taken Meg's place! She looked all over, her mind beginning to flood with panic!

And then….

She looked at herself.

Something was off! VERY off!

Her usual squashed and outlandish Nicelander frame had DRASTICALLY changed! No longer did she sport incredibly tiny and nearly immovable legs but rather, longer yet still soft and curved limbs. Her eyes began to move further upwards, looking at her arms which were also longer, more refined and more detailed and at the ends sat delicate, lady-like fingers, her engagement ring still resting on her hand. She put her hands on her hips, then on her stomach, then on her-!

_Chest._

NOPE! This wasn't normal at ALL!

She then placed her hands on her cheeks; she could still feel the chubbiness of her face but something was still so unfamiliar about it!

It was almost as if-!

She had been REPLACED?!

"GENE!" Mary called sharply, crawling on her hands and knees as she violently shook the man on the floor.

"BLURGH!? NYAAAGH! I'M UP! I'M UP!" the man shouted in worry as she leapt to his feet and looked around "I swear to programmers I'll pay for anything I broke and-!"

"GENE! STOP!" the woman cried out, grabbing onto the man's leg "WHAT'S HAPPENED TO US!?"

Still groggy from his binge, Gene hadn't fully grasped what was going on or the look of fear on his fiancé's face "What do you mean what's happened to-?"

"H-honey! LOOK! LOOK AT ALL OF US! LOOK AT YOURSELF!"

"MYSELF?"

Gene slowly turned, looking at himself in one of the mirrored panels on the penthouse walls. For a second, he could only make out what seemed to be another character but after realizing that said character was FOLLOWING every movement he was making….

"_W-What the HECK?!_"

The mayor reached out with a shaking hand and touched the surface of the glass, seeing that he was indeed the man on the other side! But this wasn't Gene he was looking at! It couldn't have been!

But….

Two chubby cheeks.

One round rosy nose.

One mustache.

But the man was taller, more detailed, more human like!

He wasn't tiny or egg-shaped or….

Or a Nicelander!

WHO WAS HE?!

Gene turned back towards Mary, finally getting a better view of the woman as she sat before him, dread written all over her face. He eyed the woman up and down, taking in every inch and ever change that had happened. He still couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe that the woman before him was his beloved Mary!

But the more he looked, the more it began to sink in there was no hiding from the truth. Despite whatever had happened, the figure was indeed his fiancé!

And if that were true….

Gene returned his focus towards the mirrored surface, the realization of the situation crashing onto him like a three-ton weight.

"_M-M-me?!_"

Mary managed to pull herself off the floor, walking over towards the man and placing a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"_A-are you o-?_"

The mayor felt as if his soul were leaving his body but despite the panic, a small chuckle escaped his throat.

And then it only grew louder!

Mary backed away fear, unnerved by the cackling sound Gene was making "H-honey?!"

Gene's laugh only began to increase, the madness in his voice growing just before all the color in his face began to fade and with one final choking gasp….

WHOMP!

Down he went, falling to the ground like a lead weight!

"GAH! GENE!"

"Urgh, my HEAD!" moaned Don as he finally rolled off the couch and onto the floor but in doing so, his much longer legs hit Tony in the face.

"AURGH! I'M BEIN' AMBUSHED!" the younger Nicelander shouted, looking around in panic and waking up Lucy in the process. Lucy let out a terrified scream as she did not recognize her neighbor and in her haste, quickly reached for a pillow and SLAMMED the man in the face with it!

"BURGLARS! THERE ARE BURGLARS IN THE APARTMENT!"

"Ow, OW! I'm not robbin' the place! OW! I LIVE HERE!"

One after another, the Nicelanders began to wake up to panic and terror but not because something TERRIBLE was happening to their home. There was no threat of being unplugged nor someone trying to infect them with a virus.

But rather, they had all waken up from drunken benders to find that they no longer knew who anyone was and considering what was going on, who could blame them!

Niceland was no longer occupied by Nicelanders…..

It was instead occupied by what appeared to be much more modern, much more DETAILED characters.

But while the change might have been EXTERIOR, nothing had changed on the INTERIOR and like clockwork, the Nicelanders did what they did best in grave situations such as this.

They all screamed.

**_"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_**

There is no sound in the world quite like that of a terrified Nicelander and it didn't take that long for the sounds to reach there other residents of Niceland.

"Okay, what's goin' on NOW?!" shouted Felix, busting through the door and holding his hammer out like some sort of weapon, Calhoun and Ralph behind him for backup.

Felix then got a glimpse of what was REALLY happening, staring in disbelief at the image of all his neighbors running around and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Wait, THOSE weren't the Nicelanders!

"WH-WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!?"

Mary was struggling with all her might to drag Gene off the ground, a difficult task considering he was MUCH heavier now than ever. She turned towards Felix, both eying each other in shock.

"Felix?! Honey!" the woman gasped "Its US!"


	2. Chapter 2-High-Definition

Chapter Two- High-Definition

It took a while for Felix to calm to finally calm the gaggle of Nicelanders down, the group shutting up just long enough for Calhoun to give them a once over.

Well, all except for Deanna. Even with all the commotion that was going on, Deanna was still passed out on the couch, not caring an OUNCE for what had happened to her.

"Hmmmm…interesting…." The marine said as she looked over the bunch one after the next, the now high-def Nicelanders nervously muttering to themselves.

"So? SO!? What's wrong with 'em?!" asked Felix anxiously "Did someone fiddle with their code?! Is it a VIRUS?! Is it-?!"

"Babe, babe. There's no need to get yourself in a tizzy…." Calhoun chuckled as she pulled her husband's hat over his eyes "I think even you can guess what happened here."

"Me?! Who should I know?!"

"Lemme give ya a clue…" Calhoun smiled "We have a few shape shifters here in the arcade, right?"

Felix looked a tad confused, one of his eyebrows arching "Yeah?"

"An' we have a few that can SHIFT others, right?"

The repairman put a hand to his chin, thinking of the many people in the character that possessed the ability to change their forms. His mind then went back to the party, trying to shift through the countless guests that had attended. Surly, ONE of them had to be the culprit but who?

The man's eyes lit up, a spark going off in his brain. He looked up at Calhoun, his jaw dropping.

"**_NO!_**"

Calhoun suddenly let out a laugh as she put her hands to her sides "I knew you'd figure it out!"

"What?! WHAT?!" asked a panicked Mary, handing Gene a glass of Alka-Seltzer to clear up his massive hangover "What's happened here?!"

"Miss Mary, calm down." chuckled the marine "It seems that you an' tha rest of you guys just got….well, BLISSED."

"Wait, BLISSED?" Ralph cut in "Hold on a second, I know that move well enough! ALL of us would have seen it pulled off with the amount of flash it makes!"

Felix leaned a bit closer to Ralph, a might curious "_What do ya mean, YOU know about it?_"

"_Don't ask…._" The wrecker responded, shivering.

Calhoun crossed her arms "Well, perhaps the Bliss occurred when we were all sleeping. That's the only way it could have happened undetected!"

Gene moaned as he tried to stand on his feet, his stomach still aching and his head feeling as if someone were jumping on it "W-wait! You mean that *BWARP!* upstart VAMPIRE was the one who did this to us?!"

The mayor was so close to losing his temper but he was so close to losing his balance again. A moan escaped his throat as he teetered on his new, longer legs.

"_Whoa…the apartment's movin' again…._"

"Honey, calm down…." Mary said in a gentle tone, trying to push the man back on the couch. She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose "Well, at least we have a definite answer to all of this. Even if it's stupid."

Gene once again tried to get back on his feet but the lurch he felt in his stomach quickly made him change his mind "Urgh! I should have known! He was going at us last night about s-SOMETHING an' then-!"

The mayor paused, trying to remember ANYTHING from his previous encounter with Demitri the night before but like all drunken memories, it was buried a WEE bit too far for the man to dig up. As much as he tried, he just couldn't remember the IMPORTANT details needed to help himself AND his neighbors.

Calhoun approached the mayor. She was a little shocked to see him in the same level of design as herself but she still found the form pretty funny.

He may have been high-def, but he was still the short, plump man he had always been.

Calhoun hid her laughter, trying to remain as stoic as possible.

"And then?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.

Gene winced, his headache returning "I….I can't remember!"

"Puh. FIGURES." Snorted Ralph, the man also trying to hold back his laughter.

"Meh, don't sweat it guys!" smiled Calhoun, waving a hand "I mean, what's so bad about looking like this anyway?"

"What's so bad?!" Gene shouted, the sudden rush of anger blowing away any nausea he had. He MARCHED right up to Calhoun, standing on his tip-toes to face her "WHAT'S SO BAD?! LOOK AT US YOUNG LADY! We look-! We LOOK-!"

"We look **_AWESOME!_**"

Gene turned around, seeing Lucy admire herself on one of the mirrored walls. It had taken a bit for everything to settle in but the more Lucy looked at herself, the more she began to LOVE what she saw!

The HD Bliss was nothing more than an IMPROVEMENT in her eyes!

She took off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair, captivated by the amount of detail and softness she saw and touched. She looked at her eyes, the blue shining through even brighter than ever. She was still short and plump but with the new designs, she wasn't EGG-SHAPED anymore; she was 100% human!

100% curves!

Sure, there was still a smidge of cartoonish exaggeration here and there, not unlike some of the details that Calhoun had, but Lucy was blown away by how REAL she looked!

She turned around towards her neighbors, her smile growing wider the more she took in.

"Guys…..do you know what we can do like this?"

"Yeah. HIDE" Roy said with a bit of shame in his voice, not feeling comfortable with the way he looked.

"No! I mean, think of all the things we can do now like this! We LOOK better! We can finally REACH things! Heck, we can even MOVE like proper people now!"

Lucy looked over to Felix. Ironic enough as it was, being only five three, she was still an inch or two shorter than the repairman but at the same time, she could see that she had details that the game's hero did not. A catty grin spread on her face as she reached up and poked Felix on his nose, the surface making a little *beep* noise.

"In fact, I think we have more frames than YOU, Felix!"

Felix blushed as he gave the young Nicelander a pout, "Alright, Lucile. That's enough! An' as fun as this seems to ya, there is no way I'm gonna let tha lotta of ya stay like this!"

"But why NOOOOOOT?!" whined Lucy.

"_Aw, great. Now ya got her mad…_" groaned Don, rolling his eyes.

"A-HEM. Ya guys do know tomorrow IS a work day, RIGHT?" Felix said crossly, much to the surprise of the others "What are tha gamers gonna think when they see ya like this?!"

"Aw c'mon Felix! Ya know that dependin' on what game you're in, your graphics match up with it! We'll still be 8-Bit!"

"Yeah, but ya won't look like Nicelanders anymore…." Ralph said with a sigh "I'm sure SOMEONE would notice an' who knows what kinda drama would stir up from that!"

The Nicelanders talked amongst themselves, all of them agreeing with the exception of Lucy, the small Nicelander standing in the middle of the group all a huff that no one wanted to take advantage of the 'gift' that they had been given.

"So what do you propose that we should do?"

"What else?" sighed Felix "We go an' find Demitri, get him ta turn these guys BACK an' then we can finally rest!"

"Sounds good to me!" smiled Ralph.

"Hold on, lemme give Darkstalkers a call…" Calhoun said as she went to the penthouse phone.

"Felix, this isn't fair!" Lucy whined again, her little hands balled into fist "Can't ya let us have fun, just this ONCE!"

"Fun?" snorted Gene "If you really think having your code twisted and warped is FUN, need I remind you what happened to ME only a few weeks ago!"

"Oooh, that was DIFFERENT, Mayor Booty Shorts!" Lucy growled, taking Gene by his cheeks and pinching them "THAT was a GLITCH! This is MUCH safer!"

Gene took Lucy's little wrist into his hands, surprising himself at how easy it was to move her around in his new form.

"Young lady, this is no laughing matter! Who knows what could happen if we even so much as walk of this place like this!"

"So what you're sayin' is that you're SCARED, huh mayor?"

Gene turned a shade of scarlet as he looked down at the young woman, his mustache twitching "SCARED?! Who in the world says I'm SCARED?!"

"From the way you make it sound like we could just DIE from takin' one step outta this place, you make it quite clear that you're scared, GEEEEENE!"

The mayor growled as he peered down at the woman "Lucile, if there is one thing I am NOT, it is a COWARD and no bit of cowardice is keeping me here!"

The little woman gave Gene a snide grin, edging him on "Then what is it? Why won't ya go out?"

"I-I'm just concerned for all of you!" Gene blurted, trying to recover "I mean….I AM the mayor here, right? What kind of MAYOR would allow his fellow citizens to put their lives in danger! That would be irresponsible of me!"

Still standing on the side-lines, Felix put his face in his hands "Gene, you DO know she's toying with your right?"

"Oh! But Gene! WHAT about the others! They don't like to be cooked up in here!"

Lucy then walked over to Deanna, flopping herself down on the couch next to the taller woman and putting her hand around her shoulder.

"Dee-Dee, don't you think it would be GREAT if we could see the arcade like THIS?"

"_Please go away…._"

Lucy then walked over to Don, wrapping her arms around the man who was looking at her as if she were insane.

"An' what about Don? He's SO OLD! Who knows if he'll get a chance to enjoy something like this again?!"

"Lucile, I swear to programmers…"

"See?! We've been given an OPPORTUNITY here, Genie!" the woman said happily, SHOVING Don out of the way "We can't just let it go to waste! Let's go out!"

Once more, the mayor blushed but not because he was angry but rather because Lucy was finally starting to get him to break. The more she talked about going out into the arcade, the more he began to think….

Perhaps, PERHAPS….things weren't that bad.

The man then turned towards his fiancé, his heart starting to flutter once he got a better look at her. The two eyed each other for a moment but in a split second, Gene was hit by something. Something that made him go back on his previous spur of curiosity.

"Er, I-!"

Mary took a step forward, a hand reaching out "Gene?"

Without saying another word, Gene quickly ran from the penthouse, the doors slamming shut behind him.

"Oh, honey! Come back!" Mary said, following suit.

Ralph and Felix looked at each other, a little confused as to what had happened to cause Gene to just bolt from the room like that.

"Wow, wonder what's up?"

"**_WHAT?!_**"

The group of characters flinched as Calhoun's angry voice echoed throughout the room.

"What do ya mean ya can't find him?!"

"Tammy, Tammy!" Felix called out, walking over to his wife "What's wrong?"

"Guys, you're not gonna believe this but Demitri? No one has seen him!"

"WHAT?!"

"Ya gotta be KIDDIN' me!"

"Wait, hold on!" said Ralph "He left with Morrigan and Lilith right? Even THEY haven't seen 'im?"

"No! They said they woke up this morning and he was gone! Not a trace of him to be found!"

"Oh, this is bad! This is really bad!" Felix said in worry.

"Okay, what's so bad about this again?" asked Lucy, her hands on her hips.

"Demitri is tha only one who can set ya guys back ta normal, ya know that!" the repairman said rather snippy. He took a deep breath, trying his best to regain himself "S-sorry 'bout that but-! Aurgh! Just when I thought things were gonna go smoothly here!"

"Think we should call up an arcade search?" Calhoun said as she stepped forward, looking determined.

"Sounds like a good idea…" the repairman mumbled "But just keep it LOW, alright? I don't want anyone else here ta know what's goin' on or for people ta get panicked!"

"_Ya know she's gonna send out her entire game. Ya KNOW that…_" Ralph whispered to Felix, the other man nodding in agreement.

"An' what are WE supposed ta do?!" asked Lucy, looking more peeved than ever "Ya can't TELL me ya want us ta-!"

"STAY!" Felix said in a powerful voice, pointing to the Nicelanders "I don't want ya guys ta leave this building, ya hear?!"

At that sudden explosion of anger, ALL of the remaining Nicelanders got to their feet and rushed over to the repairman, nearly knocking him over in the process!

"How could you?!"

"Stay here!? But I don't wanna!"

"You're putting us under BUILDING ARREST?!" shouted Don as he picked Felix up without thinking "Private, surly there has to be some other way!"

Programmers, the Bliss had worked wonders on ALL of the Nicelanders and thanks to it, some of them were actually TALLER than Felix now.

And in Don's case, TALLER and much more BUILT as well!

Felix gulped, a little nervous at how Don could lift him up so easily "Um, Captain Donald? Sir? Um, I'm just doin' this so nothin' else happens, OKAY? Th-there's no need ta get upset okay?"

"Donnie, just put him down…" sighed Deanna, putting her hand on her neighbor's shoulder. Doing as he was told, Don put the repairman down, Felix adjusting his cap.

"Ya know what….maybe I should stay here and watch you guys…."

"Aw come on Felix, we're all adults here! We don't need to be babysat, ESPECIALLY me!" Lucy pleaded.

"**_HA!_**"

"SHUT UP, TONY!"

"Ooooh, NO! I'm not riskin' it!" the repairman said as he gave the group a glare "Tammy an' Ralph can take care of the heavy stuff without me! SOMEONE is gonna hafta hold down the fort considerin' I can already TELL ya guys are just ITCHIN' to break out!"

The Nicelanders all looked each other, the expressions on their faces no different from those of children who had been caught trying to swipe something.

Well, again, with the exception of Deanna.

Deanna's concern with what was happening was so low that the only thing she cared about at the moment was trying to remember what character had called her 'BOUNCY' during the party.

"Are ya sure ya can handle 'em, honey-glows?" asked Calhoun "I mean, they AREN'T their usual TRAVEL-SIZE anymore! They could overpower ya if they wanted to!"

"Overpower me? Those guys?" snickered Felix "Tammy, please! They're my FRIENDS! An' I'm sure they understand NOW just how concerned I am for 'em! They won't be ANY trouble!"

"Oooookay….." Ralph said nervously "But if anything happens, just call us or somethin', alright?"

Felix smiled, giving both wrecker and marine a salute "Not a problem! Things will be fine here!"

Calhoun and Ralph exchanged glances but knowing they had very little time on their hands, they left anyway, watching the doors of the penthouse slowly closing behind them as Felix continued to smile and wave.

"Be honest with me Calhoun….Felix can handle NICELANDERS, right?"

Calhoun said nothing to Ralph, her eyes darting towards the elevator "COME ON! WE DON'T WANT TO WASTE TIME DO WE?"

THAT wasn't the sound of confidence….

With a plan put into motion, the only thing everyone could do now was wait.

And waiting was going to be PAINFUL.

Calhoun and Ralph made their way to the trolley, gearing themselves up for the search but as they left, they didn't notice the HAND laying underneath one of the bushes.

"**_SNNNNNNNNRK!_**"

A duck waddled up to the hand and eyed it curiously. After a few small pecks, the little thing suddenly made a nip.

"_Urgh, huh?_"

The hand pulled back and startled the duck in the process, the chubby mallard flying off as fast as it could but had it stuck around, it would have seen just WHO the hand was attached to. A tall, muscular figure rose from the ground, its other hand placed atop its head.

"_Nnngh, wh-what happened last night?_"

Demitri.

Apparently, his little snooze on the lawn wasn't as plush as he THOUGHT it was going to be. The vampire looked to the left of himself and then the right, finally catching sight of Niceland in front of him. All at once the memories of the party started to come back to him but there was ONE SMALL detail that still evaded the man.

"Hehe, oh yeah….I did party didn't I?" the man said in a weak laugh, his head hurting worse if he laughed harder "But why am I still-?"

Demitri shook his head and got back to his feet. He needed to get home. He needed some fresh blood.

HE NEEDED SOME EXCEDRIN.

Much to the vampire's annoyance, he found the trolley had taken off without him and he didn't know WHEN it would arrive back. He grumbled, levitating with a wobble.

"Would it KILL these Nicelanders to install a second trolley or something here?! I don't know how far I can fly like this!"


	3. Chapter 3-Escape

Chapter Three- Escape

All was quiet in Niceland, nothing out of the ordinary happening.

The ducks swam in the river, the trees were filled with fresh apples as usual and the multicolored stars twinkled in the sky, as usual.

Everything was normal.

Well, at least on the OUTSIDE.

INSIDE however….

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

The fancy clock on the penthouse wall ticked away loudly, the continuus motions the only thing heard as the group of transformed Nicelanders all sat about the penthouse, doing nothing.

Say nothing.

Looking at nothing.

Tick.

Norwood stroked his mustache.

Tock.

Nel adjusted her hair bow.

Tick.

Meg fluffed the flower on her head band.

Tock.

Nolan took off his glasses.

TICK.

TOCK.

TICK…..

….

TOCK.

"We gotta get OUTTA here!" shouted Lucy, jumping up from the couch as she looked around "There is NO WAY I'm gonna let myself waste this!"

"For goodness sake, child…" groaned Don "Plant your bottom back on that couch and just CALM DOWN!"

"Hey old man, it isn't MY fault that I actually LIKE doing EXCITING things in my life instead of milling around?" the woman huffed looking at Don and paying no mind to the angered glare he was giving her "Oh, wait! I TOTALLY forgot that all you like to do is sit around and do whatever it is forty-year old dudes like to do, WHICH IS NOTHING APPARENTLY!"

Don stood up, his newly defined form TOWERING over Lucy by what had to be nearly a foot. He puffed out his broad chest, his eyes cutting deep into Lucy much like a father would look at a misbehaving child but the younger Nicelander didn't flinch, instead standing up on her tip-toes as if she were ready to challenge the man.

"Say somethin' else an' I'm shovin' your cheeky butt into the COAT CLOSET, young lady!" Don growled, his posh accent dropping.

"Guys, GUYS!" shouted Meg as she jumped between the two and pushed them apart "If we MUST remain here we might as well find something better to do than FIGHT!"

The two Nicelanders GLARED at each other but Don was the first to move back, his anger gradually fading a bit.

"Sorry Meg, dear…" the sailor sighed, rubbing his temple "That was childish of me and I know better!"

"O-Oh…" the woman stammered, much too enamored with Don to even remember what he had just said "I….That's….did I do something five seconds ago?"

Lucy snickered as she looked at the two "Careful Donnie. Don't use your time bein' a heart breaker to poor ol' Meggie!"

The sailor knew EXACTLY what Lucy had implied and it was something he DIDN'T like, his anger quickly returning as he stomped over towards the girl.

"DAT'S IT!" the man shouted, his accent once again dropping as he LIFTED Lucy off the ground and carried her on his shoulder "INTA DA CLOSET YA GO!"

"YA OLD FART! PUT ME DOWN!"

***BAM BAM BAM!***

Everyone froze in place as they looked towards the door, fearing the worst.

"YA GUYS BETTER NOT BE FIGHTIN' IN THERE!" shouted Felix from the other side "I WILL punish ya! _Somehow…_"

Meg gave Don a worried look, as if to tell the man that it would be best to let Lucy go. Looking up, Don gave a growl and simple DROPPED the woman like a dirty rag on the couch.

"**_OOF!_**"

"Ya know, if you guys keep this up, Felix might keep us in here for WEEKS…" snickered Deanna, perhaps a bit too entertained by what she was witnessing.

"C'mon, Dee-Dee! Ya know this isn't fair!" whined Lucy "Something cool finally happens to us and here we are STUCK! When GENE was GIGANTORED, HE didn't have to stay in the apartments!"

"That's because his big ass broke OUTTA the apartments…" Chuckled Norwood, only making such a comment since he knew Gene was off doing who knew what.

"Honestly Lucy, I wouldn't want to be caught DEAD lookin' like this!" huffed Nel, the woman slouched back in the couch.

"Why not?" asked a surprised Meg "I think you look VERY pretty, Nel!"

Nel turned away, her cheeks blushing a bit at the comment "Th-thanks, but I think I'd feel more comfortable here. After all, unlike the REST of ya, I came up…."

Nel couldn't even finish what she was going to say. It was just too painful.

"Ya came up WHAT, babe?" Norwood asked, grinning cheekily at Nel and bothering her to no end.

"_Ya wanna say it. I know ya do…._"

The red-headed Nicelander let out a fake gasp, putting his hands to his cheeks "Why Neeeel, could it be you're upset because you're…."

"I swear to programmers…."

"PETITE?!"

The fluffy Nicelander wanted nothing more than to BOOT Norwood out of the penthouse as soon as those words FLEW from his mouth, the man still grinning like a fool in front of her but what hurt the most was that Norwood was correct.

Nel was now the smallest thing in the room…and she HATED it.

"An' here I thought GENE was the only one who had issues about his height!" Norwood laughed.

"Hey! HEY HEY!" shouted Nolan, his brows furrowing "Lay off her or it'll be YOU in the closet instead of Lucy!"

"HEY!"

"Chill, Nolan! Ya know full an' well I don't mean anythin' bad by that!" Norwood smiled "After all, Nle just wouldn't be Nel if she weren't fun-sized!"

"An' YOU wouldn't be the massive butthole without your midlife crisis sweater-vest!" Nel shot back, poking the man in his stomach. She could see the man's brow twitching a bit, a clear indicator that she had indeed landed a direct blow to the man's ego but knowing Norwood, he wasn't about to give up, not by a long shot!

"Oh but baby, ya know ya love 'em!" the man said, placing his hands behind his head "I rock these bad boys better than anyone else in the arcade!"

"That's because you're the only person who still years stuff like that…." mumbled Nolan.

Norwood walked around gracefully, his hands still on his head "Oh! Aaah! They look so much better BLISSED! In fact, I feel like breakin' outta here too! Show da world the marvels of Norwood!"

"Norwood. Don't you dare…."

The man seemed to bend down a bit, his back still towards Nel.

"But Neeeeel!"

"Norwood, I swear!"

"I just gotta-!"

"NORWOOD!"

Nel could do nothing to prevent the following events from happening. Standing on his toes, Norwood then began to SWING his hips around as if the man were performing with some invisible hula-hoop, his catty grin still plastered on his face as he moved and twirled closer to Nel.

"Mmmmm! YEAAAAAH! Gotta rock this bod, BABY! Taste the Irish charms! OOHN!"

"You are a sick **_FREAK_**, ya know that Norwood?"

Norwood continued his little performance, his brows arching as he looked back at his fuming neighbor "Don't lie to yourself, Nelly. Ya know ya like it! **_AH KNOW YA DO!_**"

Luckily for the santity of everyone left in the room, Nel HURLED one of her shoes at the man, clocking him upside the head with just the right amount of force to get him to stop his little 'dance'.

"_I need a bath…_" groaned Don "_A scalding hot one…_"

Nel growled as she stood up, marching right for the door of the penthouse.

"And just where do ya think YOU'RE going?" asked Lucy.

The small woman PUSHED the doors open, not even caring if she nearly knocked Felix out of his chair "ANYWHERE where I'm not within FIVE FEET of Nicelander Butt-Monster!"

"Aw, I was just kiddin' Nel, ya know that!" Norwood smiled innocently, taking off after Nel with her missing shoe. Taking a second to recover, Felix tried to go after Nel a little surprised that she was much quicker in her Blissed form than he had first thought.

"Ms. Nel! I TOLD ya ta-!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Nel screamed, scaring Felix where he stood. At first, the little repairman thought that his neighbor's anger was directed towards him but as he looked back, he realized that HE wasn't the one who was the recipient of the woman's outburst.

Norwood caught up with Nel, a smile still on his face "But Nelly!"

Nel opened the door of her apartment, glaring daggers at the man "An' ya wonder why everyone says you're going to live alone with your CATS!"

"I-!"

*SLAM!*

Norwood could do nothing as the door slammed in his face, seeing the images of his beighbors looking at him from the side of his eyes. Even though Nel apparently wanted nothing to do with him, the red-head was undeterred, running his fingers through his hair as he turned towards the others, grinning smugly.

"She'll come around. She always does!"

Saying nothing more, Norwood turned on his feels and began to head toward the stairs.

"Whoa, I told ya NOT ta leave the apartment!" shouted Felix, growing all the more aggravated by the second.

"M'not goin' out…" Norwood answered "Just getting' my pipe. I promise."

Felix huffed, part of his mind telling him that as soon as Norwood had rounded the corner he was more likely to take off than to go to his own apartment.

"C'mon Felix, don't think like that…." The man thought to himself, rubbing his forehead. He sighed, trying his best to be as stern as possible towards the Nicelander "Fine. Ya can go home but don't think I'm not gonna check on ya! If I don't see your behind there-!"

"Ha, Re-LAAAX, Felix!" Norwood chuckled "I'm not THAT stupid!"

With two less Nicelanders in the penthouse, Lucy's patient was starting to wane. She KNEW she had to get out but it was going to take a LOT to convince the others to side with her.

"_Hmmm, I was certain I would get Nory on my side…but he'd gone now._" The young woman thought to herself "_Tony and Dee-Dee should be pretty easy to say! But the others? Hmmm, I'll have to work DOUBLE-TIME to get through with them!"_

She thought, she planed…..

DING!

An idea came.

A smile crept on the woman's face as she looked around, making sure that the penthouse doors were shut tight. Moving along gracefully, Lucy went over to Tony, the young man looking out the window dreamily.

"Heeeeey, Anthony!" Lucy cooed as she sat next to her neighbor "What's got ya down?"

"Hmm? Oh nothin'…." The man replied, a sad tone in his voice "Just wondering when Ralph an' Ms. Calhoun are comin' back."

"Don't tell me you're THAT worried about all of this!" Lucy said, feigning concern for the man "That is so UNLIKE you, Tony! You always manage to look on the UPSIDE of EVERYTHING!"

Tony looked at Lucy, some of the sadness washing off his face. After hearing Lucy's kind words, he was starting to feel a wee bit less hectic, though not that much.

"I-I guess I should be doing that….but what if Demitri decides NOT ta turn us back! What would happen then?"

"Oh, I don't think it would be THAT BAD…." The cheeky Nicelander grinned, twiddling her fingers "But think about this Tony! What if we turn back an' turn back REAL soon! We would have missed out on havin' some FUN!"

"Fun?"

"Yeeeeeeah! I mean, I'm sure YOU have always wanted to know what it feels like to be high-def an' do somethin' new! What would YOU wanna do in this form?"

Tony thought for a moment, his usually scattered brain trying to come up with the best ideas he could. After a moment of so, a smile broke on his face.

"Ya know, I've always wanted ta see if I had what it took to go against some of those soccer players from XTreme Football! Ya know, the ENGLISH football!"

"Oh, really?" Lucy asked coyly.

"Yeah! I would be AWESOME!" Tony smiled, starting to get lost in his fantasy "I couldn't kick worth BEANS in my old form but now-?"

Tony stood up, looking happily at his longer legs.

"Hehe! I'm sure I can do it! Besides, I'm BUILT for soccer anyway!"

"Ya bet your ducks ya are!" grinned Lucy "But what about the others? They can't spend their remaining time in here!"

"No, they can't, can they?" Tony said with a nod and not a second later he quickly bounced over to Nolan "Hey, Nolan!"

It had begun. Lucy had gotten Tony excited so all she had to do was wait.

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be cool to see how well ya could do against the Mario Tennis guys like this?"

"Young man, I've beaten them before even in my NORMAL form. What makes you think THIS would make any difference?"

"But Nolan!" Tony said, growing all the more excited by the second "You can move faster! You can hit harder! Heck, I'm sure you can make better serves now since your arms are longer!"

Nolan thought for a second. The idea was tempting enough but he knew the trouble he could get in if he went against Felix's words.

But there were so many things he could do now!

"Nooooolaaaaaaan!" whined Lucy, moving closer to the man and putting her hands on his shoulders "You don't wanna stay here. I know ya don't!"

"Hey Dee-Dee! Meg! What about you!" Tony smiled as he looked over at the women "I know you'd have plans, wouldn't ya?"

"Lucile, I know what you're tryin' ta pull here." Deanna said, poking her younger neighbor on the forehead "I wasn't plugged in yesterday…"

Lucy let out a little meek squeak, feeling a tad intimidated by Deanna which was nothing new but now? Just by looking at her, EVERYONE knew it was best not to fool around with a Blissed Deanna. The younger woman began to rethink her plans as the taller woman looked down at her but to her surprise, Deanna began to smile.

"_I want in on this too…_"

Something in Lucy's eyes began to light up as she looked at Deanna, her excitement so large at this point that she hardly contain it!

"I knew you'd pull through, Dee-Dee!" Lucy said happily "But what about the others! Ya know Don is gonna be IMPOSSIBLE ta move!"

"Don't worry about him, sweets." Deanna said in a smug tone "Just play along with ME and we'll be out of here soon enough!"

Lucy was starting to like where this was headed.

Outside the penthouse, Felix continued to sit and keep guard at the door but by now the little man had found himself engrossed in a novel, the twist and turns of what was on the page drawing him in closer.

"Jimminay! I never heard of a break out like this!" the man gasped, turning the page.

*BOOM!*

"GAH!" Felix shouted as he sprung to his feet, a little *PING* sound following him "What in the arcade-?!"

Before the man could even move, who should come BUSTING through the penthouse doors but LUCY, the little woman looking around frantically as she jumped and hopped about!

"**_OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHFELIX!_**"

Felix let out a yelp as Lucy nearly knocked him over to the ground "What!? WHAT IS IT?!"

"**_SOMETHINGHAPPENEDSOMETHINGHAPPENEDSOMETHINGHAPPENED!_**" the woman babbled, shaking Felix in her hands "ITS AWFUL! ITS TERRIBLE! ITS SO VERY, VERY BAD!"

Felix had a feeling something funny was going to happen and to his dread it finally broke through. His hands clenched on his hammer, Felix jumped up and RAN into the penthouse armed and ready to fight whatever it was that he THOUGHT had appeared in the building.

"Don't worry guys! I'LL-"

"**_GET HIM!_**"

The repairman didn't even have a chance to REACT as he saw a veil of darkness loom over him. He looked up, everything seeming to slow down as he did so. The look on his face revealed everything though.

"_I knew this was going to happen….._"


	4. Chapter 4- Squishy

Chapter Four – Squishy

~Prior to this insanity~

While the other discussed what to do concerning the Bliss that had befallen the apartment, Mary marched her way to the apartment both she and Gene shared, the woman a little surprised to see that the man had left the door open.

"Goodness, what in the world is he carrying on about NOW?"

Mary poked her head through the door, tip-toeing in as she shut the door behind her.

"Gene?"

No reply.

She looked around; from the looks of things, Gene had simply VANISHED into thin air. He wasn't even near his liquor cabinet!

"Oh, come on Gene! Stop this childish behavior!"

"**_Uuuuuuuuuurgh!_**"

The small woman let out a gasp as a horrid moan came from the bedroom. A twinkle came into her eye as she walked in, seeing Gene kneeling at the end of the bed, his face buried on the blankets and his body hanging limply. Even with the way things looked, Mary knew better.

Gene was ONCE AGAIN pouting his worries away.

The woman in pink snickered as she leaned against the door, her arms folding against her chest.

"So? How do you feel?"

"_Leaf mef aluun…._"

"Oh, so is THIS the way you're going to talk to your future wife from now on? HUH?"

Gene moved his head towards Mary but as soon as she got a better look of his eyes, her playful mood quickly vanished. The mayor looked HORRIBLE, his face filled with all sorts of worry and grief. For a moment, Mary was starting to regret coming onto Gene in such a teasing manner so she quickly went over to the bed, resting on the edge as she placed her hand atop the man's head.

"Oooh, honey. Are you really THAT worried about all of this?"

"Would it surprise you if I said YES?" the mayor pouted, sitting up a bit and putting his arms on the bed. Mary couldn't help but laugh softly as she patted Gene on the cheek.

"I don't know how many times you have to be reminded but there is nothing wrong this time dear! It's just…well, it's just a PRANK, that's all!"

"A prank?" Gene mumbled "A PRANK? DEAR, we have had enough pranks happen her for the past THIRTY-TWO YEARS to know what a PRANK is!"

The man suddenly stood up, his arms out as if he were trying to give his fiancé a better view of his newly Blissed form.

"This?! THIS ISN'T A PRANK! ITS-! ITS-!"

Before Gene could finish, he found himself being pulled forward, Mary kissing him on the lips.

"It's you…." The woman smiled, Gene blushing like mad "I will admit, I was rather shocked by what had come over us but now that things are starting to get settled? I…..I must admit that there are some things I'm starting to enjoy!"

Gene felt his stomach drop, a little unnerved that of all people MARY was starting to go along with the sudden transformation.

"You HAVE to be kidding!" Gene blurted, pulling himself away from Mary "We don't know how long this could last, we don't know if this could have any lasting effects on our code but you're ALRIGHT with it?! How?!"

"Oh please! It's not like we haven't seen people being BLISSED before! They all turned out alright!"

Gene bit his tongue; if only she knew.

The mayor cleared his throat, trying his best to regain whatever composure he had but it was clear that he was slowly losing control, at least in a sense that he was TERRIBLY embarrassed over what had happened. Things ALWAYS went like this with Gene. He always had some sort of desire or a wish but whenever he got it, he was quick to learn that the thing he truly wanted wasn't as GOOD as he thought it would be.

Case in point? His desire to have a little height over the others.

That incident still caused nightmares for the poor Nicelander.

"Really darling, you're worrying about this WAY too much!" Mary laughed, twisting around to get a better look at herself "After all, even if the effects are temporary, it's giving me a view I never thought I would see!"

The former Nicelander was still taken away by her newly designed form, enjoying the fact that her limbs were actually longer and that she actually had SHAPE to her other than that of an EGG. She didn't want to be vain about the entire thing but even she had to admit that she liked what she saw. She glanced over to Gene, the biggest of smiles forming on her face as she seemed to FLOAT over to him, wrapping her arms around him as the man let out a shocked squeak.

"And you? This Bliss made ya even more HUGGABLE than before!"

Gene turned such an unworldly shade of red at those words, his face twisting to that of a shameful frown.

"Urgh! I'm not HUGGABLE! I LOOK HORRIBLE!"

"No you dooooooon't!" Mary cooed as she looked up at Gene with big flirty eyes "You're fluffy an' blue! Just the way I like you!"

"Fluffy?! FLUFFY?!" Gene screeched, his voice seemingly getting higher the more embarrassed he became "I don't know WHAT happened during the process but LOOK AT ME!"

Gene finally managed to escape from Mary's hold and looked down at himself. Suffice to say, he did not like what he saw.

"You come out looking radiant, BEAUTIFUL….but me?"

The mayor placed a hand to his sides, then put them atop his stomach. He growled, his cheeks puffing out a bit as he began to pout.

"….I think it would be best if I HID until this is all over….."

Mary didn't say a word towards her fiancé, only looking at him in surprise as he continued to check himself out in the mirror. With his back turned, Mary's lips curled into a playful little sneer and quick as a wink-!

"**_GOTCHA!_**"

"**_OOF!_**"

She clutched onto Gene from behind, her hands squishing the soft surface of his chubby stomach.

"Pat, pat, pat!" she giggled as she softly patted the mayor's stomach, nuzzling him "Mmmm, I could hug you all day!"

"URGH! Dear! Let go!" Gene squirmed, feeling all the more uncomfortable the way Mary was holding him.

"**NO.**"

"But I-!"

"_Shhhhhh….there is no need for this…._" Mary said softly "I don't see why you're so upset. You look ADORABLE."

"But I don't wanna be adorable…." Gene pouted "I wanna be HANSOM! I wanna look like the thirty-year old man I'm SUPPOSED to be!"

"But YOU do! You're just an ADORABLE, soft version of that!"

The little mayor let out a pained whine as Mary continued to cuddle him, planting a few kisses along the nape of his neck.

"_I-I'm not that chubby now, am I?_"

Her lips softly drifting on his cheeks, Mary gave Gene another hug.

"Let me just put it this way….on a scale of one to ten, one being REEAAAAAALY skinny and ten being HUGE, you're a-?"

"A two? A three?" A four…and a half?" the mayor asked hopefully.

"About a six…or a seven!"

"A SEVEN!?" Gene blurted out "B-but that's-!"

"I said one was REAAAAAALLY skinny! A five would be just, you know, average I guess!"

Gene looked down, putting his hands back on his stomach "M-Maybe I should cut back on the sweets…"

"Oh, like you can say now to a cookie, mister!" laughed Mary.

The mayor then let out a defeated moan as he SANK to the floor, Mary slowly going down with him.

"_I hate this…._"

With Gene on the floor, Mary couldn't help but giggle to herself, her hands going through his hair "You seem to hate EVERYTHING."

"That's not true!" Gene grumped.

"Then tell me ONE thing you like about this. ONE thing."

"But dear-!"

"Ah-ah, ahhhh!" Mary said in a haughty tone, wagging a finger "No complaints!"

Gene moaned again as he placed his hands to his eyes "One thing? Just ONE thing?"

"_Mmm-hmmm._"

"FINE!" the mayor spat, crossing his arms as he continued to lie on the ground "One thing I like about this is….is….."

He stalled.

Clearly he could think of something.

"I'm waiting, dear." Mary smiled.

Gene uncovered his eyes as he looked over at his fiancé. The more he took in her form, the more he began to feel that there was something he was starting to enjoy. He felt bad to admit it but he loved seeing Mary Blissed, his guilt coming from the fact that he didn't want her to think that he didn't find her attractive in her true form.

That could have been further from the truth. Gene LOVED Mary no matter what she looked like but if there was anything, ANYTHING that he could take away from this…

At least she was there.

The mayor smiled bashfully as he took Mary's hand, brining it down to his lips and kissing it.

"I love being with you like this."

"See! I told you, you could find something!"

Gene rolled over on his stomach, sitting up and looking at Mary sweetly "Perhaps….but it still doesn't mean I care for looking like this. I admit, it's nice being TALLER but maybe our old forms aren't that bad anymore!"

Mary poked Gene in his nose, "Okay SMARTY. Trying to pull that smug stuff NOW won't cover up the fact that you were whining like a little child moments ago!"

"Whine? When do I whine?" the mayor asked haughtily, his eyebrow arching "I'm the MAYOR here! What mature MAYOR adult PERSON HUGGY-BUNS would do something like that?"

Mary grabbed Gene by his soft and blushed cheeks, squishing them playfully.

"You would, you big blueberry…." She scoffed.

"Mmph. Why do you keep calling me that? Blueberry?"

Mary gave Gene a flirty look as she bent down, kissing the man on the cheek before nipping it softly.

"_Why?_" she whispered "_Because I could eat you right up…._"

Gene felt a spark going up his spine as Mary moved in closer, kissing the man on the cheek again before going right for his lips, the two enjoying a long kiss. Gene picked himself up, moving forward for another kiss before putting his arms on the shoulders of his fiancé.

"_Wonderful…._"

Mary could feel Gene's hands slipping underneath the soft fabric of her blouse but she didn't stop him. Why in the arcade would she want to? Once Gene had finally gotten to his knees, she wrapped her long legs around him, drawing herself closer as she wrapped her own arms around him.

"Ya know, BIG GENE, maybe we should go check on the others?" Mary said in a tone of faux concern.

Gene could only look on with a devilish look, undoing the buttons on Mary's blouse.

"Pfft, they're all smart enough not to pull something stupid."

"Oh, YES they are…." Mary said, starting to undo Gene's tie "They don't need us!"

Gene started to kiss Mary along the nape of her neck, his mustache tickling her soft, sweet skin. He kissed her once, he kissed her twice and then he started to go lower.

And lower…

And lower.

_And….._

"_A-AH! Gene!_"

***BOOM!***

Mary let out a terrified scream as she jumped up and clutched onto Gene, her body shaking in fright.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?!"

Gene looked around in panic, still holding onto his fiancé.

"I don't-!"

"**_LET G-MMMPH!_**"

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

"Lucile?!"

The sound of thundering footsteps filled the entire building but the sound quickly faded as it drifted down to the lower levels of the apartment. Gene and Mary looked at each other in confusion, slowly walking on their knees and peeking out through the window, making sure they were still low enough for no one to notice them. Much to their shock, who should come BOUNDING out from the front doors but the very Nicelander the two had called before.

LUCY.

"What in the world is she doing?!"

"Okay, ready to go?" the young woman squealed in delight.

"I swear, if we get in trouble for this-" growled Don, pulling the girl back before she ran towards the trolley.

"Just keep those lips of yours buttoned and things should be just fine, big guy!"

Oh yeah. This was happening!

Lucy had led a break out!

"How in the world did she get past FELIX?!" asked Mary, standing up and watching in utter awe as the others boarded the trolley and swiftly left the game. Gene looked up and made a mad rush for the door.

"DEAR! YOUR PANTS!"

"GAH!"

After looking through the entire apartment, both Nicelanders found not a trace or clue of Felix or any of the other remaining Nicelanders. For all they knew, they were the only ones left in the entire building. Gene could feel the oncoming headache as he rubbed his temples, his cheeks flushing red in anger.

"Really. They can take care of themselves. THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES!"

"We have to go out for them, don't we?" Mary said in a worried tone.

Gene thought for a moment; if he were in his right mind, he would LET his neighbors get caught by Ralph and Calhoun, letting them suffer the much deserved tongue-lashing for breaking out after being told NOT to.

But then again, they were his friends. He just couldn't let them take the brunt of EVERYTHING. After all, who knew what kind of trouble they could get in especially with LUCY of all people leading them.

The mayor knew what he had to do! As leader of the Nicelanders, it was his responsibility to ensure that they were safe, no matter how stupid the situation was or how far the journey would take them.

"We need to go!" Gene said, grabbing onto Mary's hand and pulling her from the penthouse.

"Go?! GO WHERE?!"

"Where else? The station!" Gene called out, going into the elevator. As the two began their journey from the apartments, they failed to notice two figures looking out from one of the apartment doors.

"_Do ya think they saw us?!_" asked the first voice.

"_Oh GOD, I hope not!_"

***BAM! BAM! BAM!***

"Da hell is THAT?!"


	5. Chapter 5- Let Loose

Chapter Five- Let Loose

"Holy COOOOW!" Lucy with great excitement as she stepped off the trolley "Did we pick a good night to bust loose or WHAT?"

"_Young Lady, please!_" Don hushed as he scooped the little woman into his arms, not noticing that he had done so a little tighter than normal "_You know if Ralph and Calhoun catch us, we're TOAST out here!_"

Lucy mumbled as she pushed herself away from the older man, brushing her sleeves off tartly "Urgh, what's it with you today, DONNIE? I know you're usually a putz, but not this much!"

"Listen, little lady! When someone gives me an order, I do what I can to FOLLOW IT!" the former Nicelander grumped, bending down just enough to ensure that Lucy got the message "This goes against EVERYTHING I stand for!"

"Then why did ya follow us out, big guy?"

The sailor blushed a bit, caught in his own bag of hypocrisy. He thought for a second, trying his best to come up with a good excuse to cover his tracks but for the first time in a long time someone had FINALLY shut the man up.

"Ha, I knew it!"

"Y-you're just trying to black-mail me! When we get back, I'm going to make sure that Felix knows about this!"

"_Tattle-tell…_" snorted Deanna.

"Am not!" Don retorted, sounding more like a child than ever.

"Ah-huh! I'm sure both he AND Calhoun will take your word, despite what you did to Felix…."

"D-Don't even bring that up!" the man flustered, clearly running out of steam to fight the girl.

"Donnnie, please relax…." Meg said in a worried voice, her little hands nervously going to the man's shoulders. Don looked down and took notice in just how panicked his neighbor looked and realizing her discomfort, he knew it was best to mellow out, at least for now anyway.

It was strange; on any other given day, Don would try all his might to AVOID Meg because of his embarrassment with her unbound infatuation she had with the sailor, but now? With things getting as crazy as they were now, Don couldn't just LEAVE Meg alone in her worries. The best thing any gentleman would do would be to COMFORT a person in need.

"Fine, I will…" Don sighed, his anger quickly dying down, as always "But I still think this is taking too much of a risk. Not only could we be spotted, who knows what could happen to us out here!"

"You guys worry too much!" snickered Lucy "No one is gonna recognize us like this! The arcade is our playground and we can do ANYTHING we want!"

"Anything?" inquired Deanna, giving Lucy a skeptic look, well aware of the risk they were running.

"O-Okay, maybe not ANYTHING but come on! We should at least try to have some fun while we can!" the little Niceland smiled, her arms out "Didn't you say you wanted to go to one of the soccer games Tony? I'm sure they have a freebie night or somethin' goin' on!"

"Well…."

"An' Nolan! Get your butt over to Mario Tennis and kick some….BUTT!"

"Can't I get a say in th-?"

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Lucy said in a powerful voice, not even noticing how LOUD she was becoming "LET'S DO THIS!"

The Nicelanders just looked at their neighbor as if she were insane; at that moment they were all starting to regret going out with her.

"You guys **_SUCK_**, you know that?"

"Okay, you cannot tell me that the man disappeared off the face of the arcade!"

The group of Blissed Nicelanders squeaked as they jumped to high, seeing the all-too familiar forms of Calhoun and Ralph as they traversed through the falls, looking more frazzled than anything else.

"John hasn't seen him, that…creepy Yeti thing hasn't seen him! How in the world could we lose a vampire who looks he drank STEROIDS?!" growled Calhoun.

"Hey, Turbo managed to hide out for fifteen years. Maybe the creep is doin' the same!" Ralph mumbled, rubbing his temples in frustration.

The marine snarled a bit, her fist clenched tightly "Once I get my hands on him, he won't be BLISSIN' anyone for a while!" and without another word, Calhoun marched off to one of the phone booths on the wall.

The phone booth that happened to be OPPOSITE of where the Nicelanders were hiding.

"_SSSSHIT_."

"_DON!_" whispered Lucy, moving back as far as she could from Calhoun's view.

"What are ya doin'?" asked Ralph.

"Callin' Felix to make sure Demitiri hasn't shown up back at your place. Maybe we just got 'unlukcy' an' missed him."

Calhoun shoved a few coins into the phone slot, her brows furrowing.

"Unlucky….he's gonna be the one who's unlucky."

_Riiiiiiing._

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing._

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing._

"That's strange."

"What's up now?"

"No answer…." said Calhoun as she hung up.

"Oooh, that might be a problem!"

"_Gah! What do we do now?! Those two are BOUND to go home now!_" shivered Roy, ducking in fear.

"_Alright, missy. You got us into this mess. Get us out!_" growled Don.

"_Hey, don't push me like that, CAPTAIN! I can think of somethin'!_"

"_Then think of it QUICK, because I think they're startin' to go back!_" panted Tony, nearly biting on is nails at this point.

Lucy looked around as fast as she could before spying another group of phones on the other side of the wall. They were positioned well enough that one could not see who was talking from their own position so….

"DON!"

"_What?!_" the sailor said with a jolt.

"_You're good at impersonating voices!_"

The big man glared down at Lucy, not in the mood to be led by her for another second "_And that is going to get us out of here HOW?!_"

Calhoun and Ralph continued to ponder on what to do about the situation. Felix hadn't answered the phone, Demitiri was still nowhere in sight and as the clock was ticking they knew it was only getting closer and closer to work. The marine rubbed her chin, trying to make the best of the situation but she had a gut feeling this was something both she and the wrecker could not leave unattended. They couldn't just HOPE for the Nicelanders to turn back over time; what if they never did? A problem would arise if the little citizens were stuck in that form during a work day.

"Okay, we're gonna give this place another round. If we don't find that vampire then, I'm calling my boys!"

"Geeze, hope we find him then!" hissed Ralph, rubbing the back of his neck "If he's hiding because he's scared of what we're gonna do, then he'll be in for a BIG surprise once your team-!"

RIIIIIIING!

Both marine and wrecker turned towards the wall of phones, a little surprised that the one Calhoun had just hung up had started to ring.

"Was that-?"

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Calhoun walked over, picking up the phone "Hello?"

"_OOOOH HELLO HON-EY!_"

"Felix?"

"_Ye-YEAH! Saw-REY ah didn't AWN-SIR the phone!_"

Calhoun looked at the phone as if it were some sort of foreign object to her "Dear? Are you alright? You sound…..OFF."

"_O-oh?! Its just tha RECEPTION, dat's all! I'm perfectly fine an' so are da NICELANDERS!_"

"Really now?" Calhoun huffed, leaning on the wall and giving Ralph a suspicious look "From the way you sound, SOMETHING is up!"

Not too far away, the Nicelanders huddled in fear, Don sweating bullets as he gripped tighter into the phone.

"Hahn-hahn-hahn! No, EVERYTHIN' is FINE!"

"Told ya Gene was better at doin' voices!" whispered Tony, ducking lower.

"ANTHONY!"

"Will both of you shut up!" hushed Nolan, nearly shoving both Nicelanders' heads to the ground.

"_Well, if things are that good….I'll leave ya an' the others be! Just be sure to pick up the phone next time I call, okay?"_

"Sure thing HAW-NEY!" Don said, his voice shaking a bit as he continued to flounder with his Southern accent "I'll be there!"

"_Good….."_

There was a bit of an awkward pause, everyone feeling their blood run cold.

"_Well?"_

"W-well WHAT?"

"_Aren't ya gonna say 'I love you'?"_

Everyone around could see Don's face turning the most HORRID of grey colors as he was forced with the task of telling another woman, someone else's WIFE, that HE LOVED HER.

"Y-Yeah! A-A-A-AH-!"

"_Yes?"_

"A-A-A-A-A-AH!"

"_Honey, do I need to go back an' check?_"

"Luuuuuuuurve-!"

"DON!"

"**_I LOVE YA TAMMY! GOOD BYE! AND NOW TO CHECK THE THING I PUT IN THE OVEN!_**"

And with that, the man SLAMMED the phone on the receiver, sliding down to the ground as he buried his face in his hands.

"NEVER. AGAIN!"

Back with the marine, the woman was smiling from ear to ear, the beeping phone still in her hands. Calmly and slowly, she put the phone back on the receiver, her smile still plastered on her face. Ralph looked down, a might confused as to what was going on.

"Er, Calhoun. Are you okay?"

"That was Don." The marine said calmly, nodding her head.

"W-what?! How could you tell?!" Ralph gasped.

"One, he did a pretty poor job of making a Boston accent sounds like a Southern one….and two? **_HE DID A PRETTY BAD JOB OF MAKING A BOSTON ACCENT SOUND LIKE A SOUTHERN ONE._**"

"So, I guess that's it? The guys are out?"

Calhoun slapped her forehead, the tension in her mind only rising "Just when I thought we had ONE problem on our hand! Now we have THIS?!"

"Ya know what, I know this is a HORRIBLE thing ta say, but we need to split up!" said Ralph "Ya look for Demitiri, I'm goin' back ta Niceland!"

"An' what about the other Nicelanders! I can't handle 'em by myuself big guy!"

"Oh-HO, I'm sure ya can! An' once they see ya, they'll hop to anyway!" the wrecker said as he began running back to the game.

"Hope you're right…." The marine said to herself as she ran in the opposite direction "I don't want to spend all night chasin' after people!"

Once Calhoun was out of sight, the other Nicelander began to slowly creep from their hiding spot, all looking worse than the other.

"That was close!" sighed Lucy.

"NEVER AGAIN!" Don bellowed, his face turning red "I am never, EVER allowing you to swindle me like that over something this stupid!"

"Don, we got off the hook didn't we?! You should be HAPPY!"

"HAPPY!? WHY SHOULD I BE HAPPY!?" the man continued to scream, causing quite the ruckus as a few characters began to look over "OUR BUTTS ARE ON THE LINE ALL BECAUSE I CHOSE TO BE STUPID AND FOLLOW YOU! IF WE EVER GET OUT OF THIS, I-!"

Before Don could even say another word, the contents of an ENTIRE pie were SHOVED right into his mouth, the man falling on his back as Lucy continued to force the wad down his throat.

"AUGHR! YOU'RE GOING TO CHOKE HIM, LUCILE!" Meg cried in anguish.

"No I won't! I'm just insuring that grumpy Don is gone!"

"Aaaaaan' you're replacing him with WHO?" asked Tony, still confused as to what was going on.

"Fun loving Don, of course!" beamed Lucy, standing up and not even caring that Don was still lying on the floor.

"Wait…what did you fed him?!" asked Nolan.

"Oh, just a Turbo Pie!"

"LUCY, ARE YOU NUTS?!" gasped Roy "You KNOW what those things do to us so-!"

"It's just ONE!" the little lady smirked "One shall be enough to make him-!"

"**_OHMYGOSH! ICAN'TWAITTOHAVESOMEFUN! LET'SGETMOVING! DOESEVERYONEFEELLIKETHEYNEEDTORUNBECCAUSEIDO!IWANNARUNRUNRUNRUNRUN!"_**

Lucy looked back, seeing Don SPRING to his feet and look about the entire arcade like an over-active child who had eaten his weight in sugar. She smirked, everything falling into line just like she wanted it to.

"Just enough to make him a bit more susceptible to our coxing, that's all!"

"I will admit, you seem to have everything planned out ahead…." Said Deanna, her eyes still on Don as he hopped and twitched about.

"Why do you think I brought my bag with me? This thing is FULL of pie!"

"CAN WE LEAVE?!" asked Don spastically "I WANNA DO SOMETHIN'! LIKE PUNCH A SHARK IN DA **_FACE!_**"

Lucy put her hands on the man's shoulder and led him out of the corner "So Donnie wants to have fun? We're gonna have us some fun but if Don wants ta have FUN, he has to promise NEVER to bring this up to anyone once we get back!"

Don nodded his head rapidly, the effect of the pie working wonders on him "I PROMISE NOT TA OPEN MAH MOUTH!"

"Good boy!" Lucy grinned as she patted the tall man on the head "Now let's get ya somewhere you can punch the living pixels outta a shark!"

"**_YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_**"

"Uh, guys? Didn't Don end up NAKED the last time he ate a Turbo Pie?" asked Tony, not seeing Meg turning as red as a beet as she buried her face in her hands.

Walking into the thick of the busy station, the Nicelanders has somehow once again found a way to disappear, even Don's voice fading in the crowd. Unbeknownst to them, two more sets of eyes were looking for the group, the couple managing to sneak out of the trolley long before Ralph had thought to return home.

"Do you see them?!" asked a frantic Mary.

Gene looked around, seeing nothing "Not a trace! You'd think I could-! **_NYAAAAAGH!_**"

"Honey!"

Gene fell with a WHOMP on his back as his feet gave way under him, his shoes slipping on something on the floor.

"Urgh, would it KILL people to clean this place up?!" the mayor growled as his held his aching back "That's DISGUSTING!"

"That's….PIE!" said Mary, looking down at the remains of the pie mush on Gene's shoe.

"Pie? What's so special about-?!"

PIE.

The two looked at each other, their brains quickly deducing that their neighbors had been there. After all, what other pie filling flashes RAINBOW colors once it has been bitten or in this case, STEPPED ON?

Turbo Pie of course.

"Oh no….oh no no no no no!" shouted Gene "THEY BROUGHT TURBO PIE OUT OF THE GAME?!"

Mary walked over to the nearest wall and put her head against it, "They had to know this would cause calamity. Why else would they do this?"

Wasting no time, Gene reached over and took Mary by the hand, dragging her further into the arcade.

"Come on! The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get home and the sooner we can set everything back up so Calhoun won't roast our butts if she finds us missing!"

The chubby woman stumbled on her feet a bit as Gene continued to pull her roughly through the crowd. She groaned, an angry look on her face.

"I just wanted to throw a simple party. I didn't want it to turn into THIS!"


	6. Chapter 6-Chocolate Cake and Ginger Snap

Chapter Six- Chocolate Cake and Ginger Snaps

~Prior to all the insanity….AGAIN.~

After excusing himself from the penthouse, Norwood strolled back to his apartment on the lower floor, humming a tune as he did so.

"_Wreck it, Wreck-it Ralph as fast as ya can! Ya know ya can do it, with your colossal hands!_"

Hey, the song did have a ring to it.

Opening his door, the man ducked to make sure he didn't hit his head on the low doorframe, still getting used to his new five and a half foot tall height adjustment. To his delight, all his cats didn't seem to notice the outward change of their master's appearance, running up to him as usual and purring in content as he petted them on the head.

"Hey, nice ta know that YOU guys are alright!" the man chuckled, going to his study, picking up Sassy and carrying her in his arms. The cat was so much smaller now that he was larger, almost the size of a chubby kitten "Awww, ya haven't been this small to me since ya were a lil thing, Sassy-girl!"

The cat purred happily as Norwood held her, her stubby tail curling.

Arriving in his study room the red-head looked for his pipe, the item in its usual place. He inspected it for a moment; the scaling was a bit off, the pipe a might too small for his larger hand and longer fingers but he shrugged. Even though there was a bit of an imbalance that didn't mean he still couldn't smoke it.

"Eh, might as well!"

He packed the pipe with tobacco and struck a match, puffing in a few times and blowing out some smoke rings.

Perfection.

"_Ah, nice._" The man sighed peacefully as he leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on his desk and his hands behind his head. Even with everything that was going on, Norwood was so relaxed about everything that he didn't mind being stuck in this so-called BLISSED form for a while. Granted, he was never one to really complain about being a Nicelander in the first place but he was mighty impressed with the way he looked now in a more HUMAN form.

It was such a new experience to be taller, to be more detailed and animated. He was still chubby, just like everyone else, but being one of the taller males it all evened out.

After all, he wasn't a SHORT, big blueberry like GENE.

And then there was his hair; all of that GLORIOUS red hair.

Seeing his reflection in a nearby picture frame, the Nicelander let out a smug laughing and he struck a pose, his pipe still clenched in his teeth.

"Heh, who could say NO to this piece of Nicelander pie?"

NEL COULD.

Norwood quickly remembered how angry Nel was when she stormed off from the penthouse but then again, she would always storm off when he took things a wee too far.

Everyone in the apartment knew the drill; Norwood would tease Nel, Nel would say something sassy back, the two would spare off, and then it would all come down to which would give the final blow. If Norwood won, Nel would always comeback with a small punch to the gut or just walk off.

If Nel won….

Well, Norwood would turn even REDDER than he already was.

The man blew out a smoke ring from his pipe, regretting that he had let himself get TOO playful around the woman. It was a pity just the same, considering he had wanted to say something nice to her to cheer her up but once more, that juvenile part of his tiny brain got the better of him.

"_Yeah. Smooth move, butt-monster…._" The man grumbled to himself as he felt a bit of shame coming over him.

He knew what he had to do.

He had to apologize.

His pipe still in his mouth, Norwood walked all the way back up to the top floor, Felix still in his spot by the penthouse doors. The repairman took one look at the Nicelander but didn't say a word, instead shaking his head as if to warn Norwood about the encroaching storm should he try to face Nel now.

He had to do this though, otherwise who knew when Nel would ever speak to the man again.

And if that happened….

Yeah, then Norwood WOULD be alone with his cats.

The red-head shook his head, pointing at the door frame before taping it lightly with his knuckles.

"Ms. Nel?"

No reply.

The two men looked at each other, waiting on baited breath for something to happen. Norwood knocked again, a little harder this time.

"Ms. NE-!"

"I KNOW IT'S YOU RED, GO AWAY." shouted the woman from the other side of the door.

Norwood jumped back a bit, surprised at the sound outburst "Aw but baby!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Fine, but NEEEEEL!" Norwood whined in playful tone "I just came by to say I was sorry!"

"Sorry won't cut it this time, BUCK-O!" retorted Nel.

Norwood gave Felix another glance, almost as if he were desperate for the repairman on how to FIX this situation. Felix lounged back in his chair, giving his neighbor a rather haughty look.

"Sorry. This is somethihn' YOU'RE gonna hafta fix on your own! Hammer not included!"

The red-head moaned as he leaned on the door, trying his best to sound as serious as he could.

"Look….Nel? I'm sorry okay. I didn't mean to bother you like that."

"Bother?" the woman said, finally cracking open the door to glare up at Norwood "Bother isn't the word I would use for WHAT happened back there."

"Then what would suit it more?"

"ANNOYING. Does that work?" Nel huffed.

Norwood gave a chuckle as he leaned a bit on the door, forcing it open with his weight "Heh, I would have chosen **_ASININE_** but hey! It was your choice!"

"See, there ya go again!" Nel pointed "Ya ALWAYS do this!"

"Just tryin' ta lighten the mood, that's all!" Norwood smile but it was easy to see the nervous look in his eyes, the man backing away a bit but there was no escape. Nel THREW open her door and marched right up to the man, an evil smile on her face as she reached up and GRABBED the man by his tie.

"Ya wanna lighten the mood?" Nel said in a low voice "Fine….an' I know JUST tha way for ya to do it!"

With one strong TUG Norwood went FLYING into the apartment, his pipe falling onto the floor with a clatter.

"**_HOWAAAARGH!_**"

*SLAM!*

Felix said not a word as the door closed quickly behind the two, walking slowly over to the Nicelander's pipe and picking it up off the floor.

"Geeze, hope Ms. Nel doesn't do too much damage to him!"

Too much damage INDEED.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Norwood was FLUNG onto the couch and landed with such force on the small thing that he nearly bounced off the inner springs.

"DANG, Nel! Ya tryin' to break me in half or somethin'?!"

Nel said nothing, instead looking down at the man with a sly smile on her face and her arms crossed against her chest.

GOTCHA.

Nel had been playing the man the entire time.

"Silly red-head, it so cute to see you squirm!"

The man felt his cheeks burning with blush as Nel dove atop him, getting so close to the man that their noses bumped.

"N-Nel, what is this?!"

"It's just me gettin' ya where I want to for a change…" the woman laughed as she fluffed up Norwood's hair, making it poof out even more than normal "Seriously though, your little act in the penthouse was terrible but c'mon, ya know I wouldn't stay angry at ya for long!"

Well, that was a relief. The man was glad that Nel was no longer upset with him but her sudden turn was what had him in a spin. Sure, there had been a few times where Norwood would manage to get in a nice, warm hug or two in but nothing that went this far THIS FAST! The man could feel his heart racing as Nel adjusted her seating, sitting right atop the man's lap as her little legs dangled over his.

"So what do ya think of all of this. The Bliss I mean?" the woman acted so casually that Norwood had no idea how to answer.

"W-Wait, what?"

Nel reached in with the speed of a striking snake, grabbing Norwood's cheeks and squishing them.

"Mmmmm, like two warm squishy buns, sprinkled with cinnamon an' sugar!" the woman laughed warmly as she rubbed her nose against Norwood's.

One could only imagine the bells that were going off inside the man's head at the moment.

This was his dream come true. Nel was FINALLY with him but at the same time he was still lost for words. Why in the arcade was she suddenly acting so friendly to the man when all other times she would always try to knock him upside the head.

It then dawned on him.

Alone.

She had gotten him ALONE.

Whenever the two would share tea and pie with each other, Nel always acted a bit more open towards the man, allowing herself to flirt lightly and sometimes do and say things she would NEVER allow the others to see and hear.

Had Nel actually been holding back on herself for so long because she had other worries going on, like what the others would think?

The man took the small woman by her arms, pulling her away a bit.

"Whoa, slow down Sassy-pants!" the man chuckled "As much as I love someone who PRAISES mah…."

The man stopped, arching a brow.

"Rugged, good looks….Ya got me a bind here Nelly!"

"How so?" the woman scoffed, crossing her arms "I just wanna have some fun with ya and you're startin' ta back out? Nory, I never knew ya could be such a PRUDE!"

"PAH?! A PRUDE?!" the man shouted in shock, almost OFFENDED by the accusation "Ms. Nicelander Prunella Darling! I am MANY things! Immature, cocky, someone who steals Gene's stuff when he's not looking occasionally, but I am NOT a PRUDE as ya put it!"

"Don't call me by my real name…."

Norwood suddenly stood up but as he did, he scooped Nel into his arms, posing as if he were getting ready to go on some wondrous adventure.

"I AM, as the kids call me, MR. DR. NICELANDER NORWOOD! I HAVE A THIRST FOR LIFE THAT SHALL NOT BE SQUELCHED, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! NO MATTER WHAT COMES MY WAY! An' even if I own a lot of cats that EVERYONE in this apartment can't stand, I shall NOT let that bring me down to PRUDISH levels!"

Nel rolled her eyes but a sly grin was still plastered on her face "Fine, fine, fine big-red, I get your point…"

"Oh, I don't think ya do…" Norwood snickered, dropping the woman back on the couch and standing over her "I dun think that Miss Nicelander Sassy-Pants gets what I am tryin' ta tell her!"

Norwood then reached down for the bottom of his sweater-vest, pulling it off as he swung it around a bit.

"Ah am not ah pruuuude…." The man sang "Ah can show ya a good tiiiiiime!"

"Oh, what fun can ya have Mr. Sweater-Vest?" Nel teased "Show me how to play with your cats! That is somethin' I MUST know!"

The man leaned down, his body nearly on top of Nel as he gave her a devilish grin.

"Heh, ya know there is one type of cat that I love above all others….a special cat YA happen ta have."

Nel wrapped her little legs around Norwood, drawing him closer "Do tell, RED."

Norwood slid his hands behind the woman's back, lifting her up a bit "I think there are better ways of showin' ya…."

And then…

Smooch.

Nel had given Norwood a few pecks on the cheek before but this was something more than that, something MUCH bigger. In the back of Norwood's mind, the man could not believe that this was happening but it wasn't as if this was something he didn't want.

WHO WOULDN'T WANT A KISS FROM NEL!?

The man had to watch Nel kiss Felix at the end of every game for thirty-years! It was about time he got some of his share!

The two pulled away, Nel looking at Norwood with her big (and devious) brown eyes.

"Tell me, Red."

"Yes?"

"What is it? What is it about ME that, well, makes ya feel this way? I mean, there are so many other wonderful ladies here so why choose me?"

In a flash, Nel saw the playful, almost impish look in Norwood's face disappear, replaced with the look of a man who looked as if his loved one had told him something that both touched and hurt his heart. The woman began to regret her question in that very second, almost worried that she had done something to upset the man.

"Nel…." Norwood began, his voice so sad "Nel, you're WONDERFUL!"

The woman blinked a bit, still unsure of what to take of the man's mood "H-How so?"

Norwood smiled as he continued to hold Nel in his arms "I can't just measure it words, short-stack! I….Ever since we were plugged in, I just felt somethin' wonderful an' LOVELY about ya!"

LOVELY.

Nel blushed at that word, hoping to the programmers that Norwood hadn't noticed.

"I guess its just when everyone was startin' ta get ta know each other. I mean, we had out backstories ta fill in all tha issues about tha past an' all an' it did say I kinda had a crush on ya as a kid."

"Oh, GOD! THAT!"

"But the more I got ta know ya, tha more I began ta realize-!"

The man stopped, his mind feverishly trying to catch up with his heart.

"You're everythin' I love an' MORE!" the man smiled "Smart, crafty, you're sharp an' feisty too!"

Nel had NEVER been as bashful as she had been at this very moment, her chocolate brown skin now red as a rose as she continued to avert her eyes away from Norwood. She then felt his fingers gently going under her chin, lifting her head up. The two then met eye-to-eye, brown meeting green.

"Plus, you're as cute as a button."

That was it. That was the moment that all sharpness and cattiness had just been BLOWN out of the way for Nel. Unable to hold back, the woman placed her tiny hands to her cheeks, letting out a squeal of a laugh as she shuffled away from Norwood.

"R-R-Red! You're just tryin' ta fluff me up here!"

"I'm bein' honest!" the man said, moving closer to the woman "I-I just hope….I just hope that ya don't find me such a huge annoyance. I mean, I know I've gotten on your case over the past three decades but-!"

Norwood felt Nel's finger touch his lips, his words stopped right at the height. He looked down, seeing Nel giving him a wink as she shook her head.

"Oh, Nory, Nory, Nory. If I found ya ANNOYIN', I wouldn't have let ya get CLOSE ta my apartment. But guess what? Here ya are!"

The taller man moved back, clearing his throat as he pulled at his tie "Well, ya could have invited me in here ta kick my butt. There have been PLENTY a'times when ya've done THAT!"

"Hey, those were just signs of affection. An' in some cases, ways ta get ya ta shut your mouth before someone whomped on ya!"

Norwood let out a nervous chuckle as he wrung his hands together "Th-thanks darlin'."

"For what?"

"For just listenin' ta me an' takin' me seriously for once. I REALLY thought ya were gonna blow a gasket on me once I told ya how I felt but…"

"Norwood, stop…" the woman said in a calm voice "Don't think for a second I would invalidate your feelings like that. I know I get on your case from time to time but what you just told me? All of that?"

Norwood nodded "Yes?"

The small woman gave Norwood a soft smile as she moved over, embracing him a loving hug.

"That was the most loving, WONDERFUL thing anyone has ever told me."

Norwood's heart began to beat as fast as a drum again, his entire mind on cloud nine as Nel continued to hold him with such love. She looked up again, enjoying seeing him so flustered and shy. She slowly inched her way upwards, her fingers touching each and every one of the button's lining his shirt.

"An' ya wanna know somethin' else?"

"W-What?"

Nel rose up to reach Norwood's ear, her soft lips nearly touching them.

"_I think we should finish what we started…._"she said with a coo, kissing the man on his freckled cheek. Her arms slowly draped around his shoulders, her kisses continuing as she moved further down. Norwood placed his hands upon her and turned, his forehead resting upon hers.

"Ya really wanna do it like this?"

"_Why not?_" Nel said "_I don't feel like waitin' an' I know ya don't either…._"

The man laughed, leaning forward and starting to undo the back-bow of the woman's dress "Read my mind, chocolate cake."

Nel was carefully undoing the button's on Norwood's shirt, smiling up "Oh, I'm chocolate cake, eh?"

The man nipped playfully at the woman's shoulder "Mmmm, yes. Ya taste so sweet."

The woman was tickled by the feeling of both Norwood's lips and mustache on her skin, pressing herself closer to him.

"Heh, ginger snap." She whispered, resting atop the man's lap.

"Spicy cocoa…" the man said, going in for another kiss, his hands gripped onto Nel's wonderfully luscious hips, kneading the soft, warm flesh.

"Pumpkin pie…." she said, a little gasp at the end of her words.

"Cheeky lil bon-bon…."

The following moments were filled with nothing but pure pleasure for both Nicelanders, their minds only focused on themselves and having not a worry for the growing noise that began to surround them. Even when things were starting to shake around them, they couldn't pull away from each other.

There were some voices in the hall….

"_C'MON!_"

There were a few crashes and a few loud booms.

"I know this is gonna come back and bite us!"

None of that even hit their ears. By now, both Nel and Norwood were on the floor, Norwood careful not to put too much of his weight atop the smaller woman as she had both her arms and legs wrapped around him.

"You're holdin' back."

"I don't want to hurt you…." Norwood said, looking at little surprised.

"Don't worry about me…." The woman purred "Worry about YOURSELF!"

And it continued….

"_HOLD HIM!_"

"_MPPPH!_"

And it continued….

And…..

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"

Finally, after so many ignored cries for help, so many ignored sounds of battle, the two snapped from their trance, Nel gasping as she clutched onto Norwood. The two remained on the floor, almost as if they feared that someone else would bust their way through the door and catch them.

To their luck, it seemed that the two were undetected but that didn't mean things were less hectic OUTSIDE the door.

"Can you find him?!" said one voice.

"_Mary?_" Nel whispered, hoping no one would pick up on the noise.

"No! And everyone else is gone!"

That was definitely Gene but what in the world was going on? Both Nicelanders sounded PANICKED, as if something terrible had happened to them but before any further questions could be raised, the sound of running footsteps filled the halls again.

The two looked at each other before glancing over to the door.

"Should we check?" gulped Norwood.

"Per-perhaps we SHOULD!"

The door to Nel's apartment creaked open, two sets of eyes looking out into the hallway, one brown, the other green.

Nothing.

"What in the world happened here?"

***BAM! BAM! BAM!***

"Da hell is that?!" asked Norwood, nearly tripping over himself at the sudden noise.

"Sounds like it came from the penthouse!"

"The penthouse?" the man asked, getting on his feet "Ya don't think?"

Once again, the two looked at each other but this time they knew full well what had happened.

"**LUCY.**"

The much-talked about breakout had happened and who else but Lucy should the fiasco be led by. But if Lucy and the others were gone, who was it making such a racket in the penthouse. Nel threw on Norwood's vest, the thing MUCH too big to her in her petite size as the man scrabbled to put on his dress shirt and underwear.

"I have a bad feelin' about this!"

The two then darted into the penthouse, finding that the sound was coming from one of the coat closets in the back of the area.

***BAM BAM BAM!***

"Okay, I am gonna be calm about this…" Norwood said as he reached for the door knob "But if there is a dead body in here-!"

The man PULLED the door open but a figure SHOT from the closet, causing both he and Nel to scream at the top of their lungs.

"MPPH! MMMPHHH!"

Looking down, the two saw that the one responsible for the noise…..

Was FELIX!

"FELIX?!" Nel gasped in shock as she looked down at the man, his wrist and ankles bound with what seemed to be the remnants of Meg's hair band and his mouth stuffed with party napkins.

When the Nicelanders made a break-out, they made certain that NO ONE was going to tell!

Nel rushed to her knees and freed the man, Felix coughing once his mouth was free.

"THEY! *ACK!* RAN-!"

"We know, we KNOW!" Norwood said in shock "Gene an' Mary just ran outta here ta find everyone but how did-!"

"D-don't ask!" gasped Felix, staggering to his feet "W-we need ta get the others back before somethin' else happens though!"

"Somethin' else?" said a miffed Nel "As if this isn't bad enough!"

"C'mon guys, I'm gonna need as much help as I can get!" Felix said in an exasperated voice, his face turning red "While ya two were tryin' on each other's clothes, did ya hear ANYTHIN' about where they were goin'?!"

Both Nicelanders said nothing, Felix not even noticing the look of sheer embarrassment on their faces as he turned around and thought.

"Ya know, maybe it would be best if Nel an' I stayed heeeeere…." Norwood grimaced painfully, pulling Nel out of the penthouse.

"That would be a great idea!" Felix groaned, rubbing his head "There are enough Nicelanders on tha loose as it is! I don't need ALL of ya out!"

"RIGHT." Nel replied harshly "THERE IS SO MUCH TROUBLE GOIN' ON FOR YA FELIX."

The repairman uttered not another word as he tore out of the penthouse and made his way towards the elevator.

"For the love of programmers, keep your butts HERE!" Felix said, looking back at Norwood and Nel, still ignorant to the fact of what had really happened "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

And with those final words, the elevator doors closed, Nel and Norwood alone in the silent apartment.

Were they really that lucky? Had Felix been completely oblivious? Had they not been found out.

"Um, let's go back to my apartment, okay?"

"**LET'S.**"


	7. Chapter 7- Shark Punch

Chapter Seven- Shark Punch

A certain vampire staggered back into his game, his body feeling as if he had gone through several final move attacks.

"Urgh, I need SLEEP!" he growled, ignoring the fact that he had already spent several hours passed out on the lawn of Niceland. Either way, Demitiri wasn't going ANYWHERE. The loud sounds of clashing bells, banging metal and screaming fighters did a number on his pounding head, the poor monster feeling as if he were being pushed and pulled with every sound.

And then he saw it.

A couch.

Right there near the entrance of the game.

Sasquatch had bought the thing years ago but everyone thought that the ugly floral print piece of furniture matched nothing else in the game and so, it was placed right at the front, as if they expected guest to just come in and sit on the thing.

Sit.

Or SLEEP.

It was if the heavens had opened around Demitiri as he spotted the thing.

"_Softness, warmth….SLEEEEEEEP_"

He floated near the couch and without saying another word, curled up on it….and fell asleep.

Felix was running out of breath from looking around the arcade for the others but even after an hour, he still came up empty handed.

"Urgh, this is IMPOSSIBLE!" the man shouted in frustration as he threw his cap tp the ground "How in tha ARCADE can I lose Nicelanders?!"

Ah, ah, ah. They didn't look like Nicelanders anymore.

For all Felix knew, the group could have easily blended in with everyone else now. He stopped, his brain ticking away.

"Okay, okay. I need ta stop thinkin' like a Nicelander…." The man said to himself "I need ta start thinkin like….like…."

DING.

"I need ta start thinkin' like a bunch of people who busted outta a place an' have enough energy to tear up any game they go to!"

"**_YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!_**"

Felix jumped at the sound of a loud scream but he recognized it instantly.

Who in the arcade could miss DON'S scream?

"Donnie?!" the repair man said, his attention going to Man-Eater, several other characters filing around the game. Felix had to PUSH himself through in order to get to the game but once he got in….

"WOO! LOOK AT HIM GO!" shouted one character.

"HEY! THIS ISN'T IN THE RULES!" said another.

"Oh GODS, I'm glad the poor shark can regenerate….." whimpered another.

Felix's eyes bulged out as he got a glimpse at what everyone was looking at and that was….

"_O-oh mah LAND!_"

The form of a Turbo-Powered Don, shirtless, beating the living chum out of the giant shark boss with NOTHING but his bare hands and an OAR!

"**_YA GONNA BE WISHING YA COULD SHOOT THOSE TEETH!_**" roared Don, gripping the shark around what would be its neck and thrashing with it.

"Lucy! This has gone TOO far!" shouted Meg, the poor woman looking off from the side.

"But he's so HAPPY!" Lucy grinned "I've never seen Don so energetic in his LIFE!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DRUGGED HIM!"

"Aw, don't be so down. Turbo pies are NOT drugs!" Lucy scolded Meg "They're just power-ups with a bit of a KICK to 'em!"

"**_YO-HO-HO! KISS MY BUTT!_**"

"_I am so glad I brought a camera…._" Deanna snickered evilly, taking evidence of the ENTIRE fight.

"NICELANDER DONALD! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"

The group of Nicelanders squeaked as they looked back, spotting Felix in the crowd.

"Oh, NO!" gasped Lucy, ducking down to the ground "HE'S here!"

"Don't fret Lil Lulu!" laughed Deanna, picking the smaller woman up "I got this covered!"

"Ya do?"

"Hey Don!"

Don turned towards the others, a crazed look in his eyes as he HELD the whimpering shark by the tail in his TEETH.

"**_MPPPHPH?!_**"

"Someone wants ta take away your fun!" Deanna said, pointing towards Felix who still hadn't spotted the others from being over-swamped in the crowd.

"Don! I can-!"

"**_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_**" roared the Nicelander without warning as he JUMPED in front of Felix "**_LITTLE BLUE REPAIRMAN NO TAKE AWAY DON'S FUN!_**"

Felix stopped right in his tracks as he looked up at Don; yeah, Don was the BIGGEST of the Nicelanders now and from the looks of things, he could have SNAPPED Felix in half in between his ARMS if he wanted to.

And Don DID look like he wanted to!

Felix backed away, his face paling but a smile still on his face "N-now Donnie, I'm just gonna take ya home an-!"

The repairman stopped once he realized that Don DID in fact look more INSANE than normal. He arched a brow, pointing towards the man.

"Have ya been eatin' Turbo Pies again?!"

"**_SMALL PINK HAIRED GIRL GIVE ME SEVEN OF 'EM!_**"

Felix trembled; things had gone from bad to WORSE "_I was afraid of that…._"

Had Felix been paying attention to what was happening before him, the repairman would have been able to jump out of the way just as Don made a dive for him but in that split second, he was too late! Felix gave a chocked cry as Don's hands grabbed him around the sides, nearly crushing him in the process!

"**_GWARK!_** Why does everyone else gain strength when they eat those stupid pies?! **_I NEVER DO!_**"

"SHUT UP!" growled the maddened sailor as he drew his arms back and TOSSED Felix into an awaiting net, the man getting tangle up horribly as Don stood and roared not unlike a rather famous city-destroying monster.

"**_GIMME ONE HUNDRED BAJILLION POINTS, BUTT-HASH!_**"

"Why did you have to give him all those pies?! **_WHY!?_**" cried Meg.

"He wasn't going to leave us alone if I didn't!" answered Lucy, still not seeing the encroaching danger to her actions slowly approaching.

"That's it! As….INTERESTING as this was, I don't think we can handle this anymore!" Meg huffed in anger as she popped from her hiding space, both Lucy and Deanna trying to reach for her.

"Megan! AUGHR!"

Meg scampered as fast as she could on her legs, surprised that her newly formed body actually allowed her to, for the lack of better terms, MOVE LIKE A PROPER HUMAN.

"_Heh, so THIS is what it feels like to have a decent running speed…_"

Don was quickly making his way through the crowd, not content in beating up sharks, the other characters trying with all their might to subdue the man but when one has ingested SEVEN Turbo-Pies, it's going to take a LOT to bring them down!

"DON! DOOOOOOOON!"

The man stopped in his tracks as he turned back and looked at Meg, his eyes filled with both insanity and confusion. Meg meeped, starting to rethink her sudden plan to try to stop Don on HER OWN but there she was, looking chub-muscle madness right in the eyes!

"D-Donald…." The woman began, a bit of courage growing in her voice "You have GOT to stop! This is not like you!"

Don blinked off, twitching every second or so "**_HUHN?_**"

"You're much more POLITE and a GENTLEMAN than this!" the woman scolded, not even aware that she was talking down to Don HERSELF in front of such a large crowd. Meg was often much too shy around people she didn't know but this time she KNEW she had to take charge. She marched right up to Don, looking as cross as ever and not caring a lick that the man was almost more than half a foot taller than her. He had already done too much damage to the game and she wasn't going to stand for it any longer!

"Listen to me MISTER! If you don't stop doing this than….than-!" the woman growled, her fist balling up in anger and her face turning red "**_I'M NEVER GOING TO MAKE YOU THAT LEMON AND MINT TEA YOU LOVE, EVER AGAIN!_**"

Silence!

Everyone looked at the Blissed woman, her eyes still shooting daggers at Don.

"_Tea?_ _Is she serious?_" Lucy moaned, slapping her forehead "_She really thinks TEA is going to bring this man down?"_

Don looked stunned for a moment….but then the Turbo Pie kicked in again but this time with a rather interesting action. He threw down the character that he was holding and ran up to Meg, grinning like a completely fool as he stooped down to her height.

"Daaaaw! Meg, you so SWEET!"

Meg was nearly FLOORED by the man's words, "WHAT?"

Don RUSHED up and took Meg off her feet, nearly CRUSHING her in a huge hug "Come with MEEEE Tea Lady an' we **_SHALL DEFEAT EVERY SHARK IN THIS ARCADE!_**"

"Uuuurgh! Can't….BREATH!"

Before Meg could say anything else, Don planted the most ENORMOUS, the most PASSIONATE, the most BLOW YOUR HEELS OFF kiss on Meg's lips that had ever been witness in the arcade, everyone just standing in awe at what they were witnessing!

And Meg's heels DID indeed pop off, hitting some hapless spectator in the face.

"_Urgh! My eyes!_"

"_Programmers…._" Deanna said, taking off her glasses to make sure she wasn't hallucinating "Did…did that really happen?!"

Don pulled away, Meg lost in a dream in his arms "Let us go, DEAR!"

Meg could care less to where she was going now; as long as she was in Don's arms, he could have taken her ANYWHERE! She smiled dreamily, her body hanging limp and her head still floating upon cloud nine.

"_Ah bah….HUH?_"

Without saying another word, Don THREW the dreamy Meg over his shoulder and PLOWED through the crowd like some sort of tank, characters crying out in pain as they were flung everywhere! Still tangled in the net, Felix could do nothing but watch helplessly as the two Nicelanders escaped his sights.

"Donald! Megan! **_WAIT! SOMEONE HELP ME!_**"

Lucy and Deanna stepped from the crowd, their minds blank and looks of shock n their faces.

They just couldn't believe what had transpired before them.

Don, after all these years of RUNNING from Meg in fear, had actually KISSED her.

True, it was under the effects of a Turbo Pie but either way the two women could not believe what had just happened.

"I….I think this might be getting out of my control…" Lucy said, an unsettled smile on her face.

"YOU THINK?!" shouted Deanna, knowing that with each passing second things were starting to unravel around them.

"I can fix this! I CAN FIX THIS!" the poor young Nicelander stammered as she scuttled about "I can get everything back under control! I just have to find the others and get them back!"

"Then stop flapping your gums and come on! Who knows what damage Don could do at this point!" shouted Deanna as she took Lucy by the hand and began to drag her from the game. Deanna was in such a hurry that she didn't even notice Felix hanging in the net near the entrance of the game.

But Felix did.

"**_LADIES! COME BACK! I CAN'T-! REACH-!_**"

**_*RIIIIIIIIIP!*_**

Felix felt and heard the sound of tearing material around him and with a terrible THUD, he came crashing to the ground, the net having finally given way around him. The poor man lay on the ground for a moment or two, trying his best to regain his sense.

"Urgh, and here I was hoping for a PEACEFUL night!"

"Has anyone else seen them?" panted Mary, growing exhausted from running around so much.

"No one has!" said Gene, wiping his brow "I've checked Bubble Bobble, Need 4 Speed! No one has seen the other Nicelanders!"

"Okay, this is bull-donkey" Mary said in pure untapped frustration, stamping her foot on the ground. Gene let out a gasp, still not used to seeing the woman he cherish saying such terrible words!

"MARY!"

"No, this IS BULL-DONKEY! There are only so many games in this arcade! There is NO way that they could have just disappeared off the face of the Earth! There is something we're not looking into!"

Gene walked over to a bench and sat down, trying to brush his hair from his eyes "Urgh, face it dear. With Lucy leading the charge, those guys could be in FLORIDA for all we kn-!"

"**_MOTHER BLUBBERS MONKEY FAAAAAAAAARTS!_**"

Gene and Mary both jumped as they heard the sound of someone screaming at the top of their lungs but as they turned, their eyes were met with a familiar sight.

"Don!" Gene said, a little bit of hope in his voice.

Mary on the other hand, didn't seem as pleased as her fiancé.

"Wait, DON?"

There was a great explosion as characters jumped out of the way, Don LEAPING into the air like some majestic super hero, Meg still lying limp and dreamy in his arms.

"SAIL AWAAAAAAAAAY!" the man screamed.

Meg just blinked, her eyes showing forth just how out of it she was at the moment as Don continued to cradle her in his arms "What you say sailor man?"

It wasn't surprising to say that Mary and Gene were stopped right in their tracks at the sight, not sure whether to just follow Don or to return home and reevaluate EVERYTHING they knew about their neighbors.

But for the sake of the arcade, they knew they had to press on.

"The only good thing about what I just saw…." Gene mumbled "At least I know Don was only doing that while under the effects of a Turbo Pie. That is the ONLY god-damn thing keeping me from screaming!"

"You get on MY case for saying BULL-DONKEY but you get to swear all you want?!"

"We don't have time for this Mary! Let's GO!"

"Felix! FELIX!" shouted Calhoun as she busted through the doors of Niceland, seeing and hearing nothing around her. The marine BOLTED up the stairs, running right into the penthouse to find the massive mess….

And her husband's cap on the ground.

"URGH! FELIX!" the woman growled as she snatched the item up, her face turning red "At this point, I should have had my boys guard this stupid game!"

**_*BAM!*_**

Calhoun flinched as she turned towards the other apartments, running right towards Nel's door and KICKING it open, guns out and armed!

"ALRIGHT! WHO'S IN HERE!?"

"OH PROGRAMMERS!"

The familiar holler from Norwood was just enough to make Calhoun take her fingers off the trigger for a moment, her eyes going right for the couple who were THANKFULLY obscured by the back of the couch.

"Oh, thank the PROGRAMMERS you two are here!" Calhoun said with a smile and a sigh, completely oblivious to the horrified looks on the faces of both Nicelanders "No one has tried to do anythin' to ya, have they?!"

Nel and Norwood could only exchange looks, both still holding tight onto each other. Nel shook her head, her fluffy afro hitting Norwood in the face.

"_Nooooo….._"

"Good!" blustered Calhoun, looking around the apartment "From the looks of things, I was certain someone had tried to attack both of ya! I commend ya two for keeping your ground an' fendin' off whoever was in here!"

"RIGHT." Norwood said, ducking down a bit "There was an INTRUDER. That's it."

"Be as of that, have ANY of you two seen Felix? His hat is here but-!"

"I THINK HE SAID HE WAS GOIN' OUT TA FIND THE OTHERS!" Nel interrupted, her hands pointing towards the door "MAYBE YA SHOULD GO FIND HIM! HE SAID HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT YA!"

"At this rate, I'm more worried about HIM!" the marine growled, clenching her fist "But since we are in the middle of a crisis, I should assist him!"

Calhoun prepared to leave, taking a hold of the doorknob "Oh, an' if anyone else comes back here, make sure to tell me alright?"

"Yeah! Because tha LAST thing we need is someone else BUSTIN' in here!" the red-headed Nicelander said with a hint of aggravation in his voice.

"NORY."

Perhaps for her sake, Calhoun had already run towards the stairs as Norwood made his little 'comment', her mind much too focused on locating her husband and the rest of the wayward Nicelanders.

She took a look at her watch; it was nearing nine.

With the workday slowly approaching, Calhoun knew she had a tough mission on her hands, especially considering how slippery the Nicelanders had proven themselves to be. And to think that months ago, the woman had considered the small people to be nothing more than Weebles with legs, the only thoughts on their minds being pie and living out their daily lives in happiness and other silly things.

If she had known that they were THIS conniving, she would have kept EXTRA precautions around them!

The woman hadn't gone three yards from the entrance when she stopped in her tracks, her mind instantly going back to Nel and Norwood back in the apartments but this time she wasn't thinking about their safety.

She wasn't thinking about their well-being.

Instead…..

"_Wait….were those two-?_"

The woman could feel her cheeks flaring red, nearly dropping her gun on the ground in the process.

"O-okay…." She mumbled, slapping herself mentally "Note to self. ALWAYS KNOCK FIRST!"


	8. Chapter 8-Bust-a-Move

Chapter Eight– Bust-a-Move

"_Deeeemiiiiiiiii….._"

A sweet voice. A gentle voice.

It's just what someone wants to hear.

"_Mmmm, how nice…_" a certain vampire cooed to himself as he rolled over on the couch "_You're voice is like that of an ANGEL!_"

***SMACK!***

"UUURGH! WHAT?!"

So stunned by the slap was one Demitri Maximoff that he tumbled from the couch and landed hard on the floor. His senses coming back to him, he looked up and saw the familiar form of two succubi standing in front of him, the taller figure looking more angry than the smaller one.

Morrigan.

Of course.

"Oh, so it's YOU…."the vampire grumbled, rubbing his sore cheek "Would you PLEASE inform me of what reason you had to SMACK me like that?" the man huffed concededly.

"Oh, STUFF it ya flying rat!" the older succubus growled as she reached down and took Demitri by the ear, pulling him off the ground "Do ya KNOW how long we've been lookin' for your butt! Ya had the entire game in a panic since ya ran off!"

"OW! MORI! OOWW!"

"AND DON'T CALL ME MORI!"

Not sure whether to be concerned or entertained, Lilith just followed the two back into the halls of their game "Gosh, makes me wonder if we're the only ones going through any drama today."

"Heh, ya have NO idea how heated things are gonna get, Sissy!" Morrigan sneered, pulling Demitri closer to her "Isn't that right, DEMI?"

"Y-You say that as if you expect me to fear you!"

"YA SHOULD!"

Had the three known what was happening right outside their game, perhaps they would have stepped in to do something to stop it but preoccupied with their own business, the monsters remained unaware of the madness that was only growing inside the packed station.

"DONALD, COME BACK!"

"NEVAAAAAAAAAAAR!" shouted the Turbo Pie hyped Nicelander, plowing through the crowds with Meg still hanging over his shoulders "I'M NOT STOPPIN' TIL EVER SHARK IN THIS HAAAR ARCADE IS DEFEATED!"

"It's not like we have that many games with sharks in 'em, Donnie-Boy! STOP!" panted Deanna, getting rather tired from chasing after her neighbor but as she could see, RUNNING was the only way she could keep up with the man.

Well, running or hopping on a jet to catch him. The man had SEVEN Turbo Pies running through his system now and he wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"W-wait!" panted Lucy "I-I need to rest…."

"I should think so…" growled Deanna "I'm getting sick of chasin' after shark-boy like this! There has to be another way to get his attention or SOMETHIN'!"

"Well, we could try takin' some of those stupid ships he makes and breakin' 'em in front of him! THAT would get his attention!"

"Hey, I'm WORRIED about Donnie. Not DESPERATE enough to risk him breaking my neck over-"

"Wait….where's TONY?!" asked Lucy.

"Tony? Oh, I think I overheard him saying he was gonna skip out on us and head back to one of those games he mentioned. Soccer Star? Hi-Speed Futbol? I can't remember."

"And Nolan?! Roy?! What about those two?!"

"I saw Nolan heading over to Mario Tennis and Roy…." Deanna stopped, trying to come up with the best way to inform Lucy about their absent neighbor "I think he ran someplace where he could cry."

"Great, just GREAT!" Lucy said in an exasperated voice "We need those guys to help us an' whadda they do?! THEY SKIP OUT ON US!

"Hey, given the circumstances, I should have left too…."

"Deanna! Don't bring tears to my he-!"

"AURGH! DON! NO!"

The two Nicelanders gasped and ducked around the corner as they heard the familiar sound of Ralph calling towards the wayward sailor.

"_Aw man! Pretty soon the entire arcade will be gunnin' for us…._" whispered Lucy.

"_As if they didn't have enough reasons to do so?_"

"_Are ya implyin' that this entire fiasco is MY FAULT, Dee-Dee?!_"

Deanna gave the younger Nicelander a sarcastic grin, patting her on the head "And if I do? What do you have to say about it?"

Lucy prepared to say something towards her neighbor but the sudden ERUPTION of screams and breaking objects stopped her mid-retort.

"Gah! What's Don up to NOW?!"

The two Nicelanders peeked from the corner, seeing Don clutching onto the side of one of the game signs, hitting Ralph upside the head with a palm tree!

And the kicker?

MEG WAS STILL IN HIS ARMS.

**_"BACK! BACK SMELLY RED MAN!"_** Don cried, looking more crazed than ever as he beat Ralph continuously on the side of the head with the tree **_"YOU SHALL NOT CONQUER MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"_**

Meg began to come to a bit in Don's arms but her mind was still lost in the warm feelings of the kiss that Don had given her. Ralph could have been ON FIRE in front of her and she still would have smiled.

"_Hmm? What was that about hitting people?_" she said in a heartfelt voice, clueless as to what was happening only a few feet away from her.

Ralph was trying his best NOT to hurt Don but with each swing he felt that promise was slowly fading away as it was now being replaced by the strong urge to RIP Don from the wall and TOSS him back into their game.

"**_DONALD! OW! QUIT THIS!_**" Ralph shouted, trying to reach for the tree and Don but missing each time. The Nicelander mad some sort of inhuman snarling sound, sounding more like a rabid weasel than a man at this point.

"**_MONSTER! THE ARCADE HAS A MONSTER IN IT!_**"

"Does he mean ME?" asked a giant one-eyed wolf demon, his three headed eagle co-worker just shrugging. Perhaps to their luck, Don's anger was not focused on them but rather Ralph, the wrecker still trying to find a way to get both Don and Meg off the sign before anyone was hurt, at least any more than they already were. From Don't point of view, Ralph took on the form of a massive red monster, his fist transformed into huge spiked wrecking balls, a sharp horn affixed in the middle of his head.

There was no way in the code-void that Don was letting ANYTHING like that get near him, pie or no pie.

"**_DON'T MAKE ME SLICE YA UP FOR CHUM! I WILL! I WIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL!_**"

Another smack hit Ralph dead in the nose, the man tripping and landing atop Dig-Dug who was unfortunate enough to be standing next to the huge wrecker at the moment.

"Gaaaaah! C'mon! I'm not some sort of punchin' bag!"

**_*STING!*_**

**_"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"_**

Ralph jumped what had to be ten feet in the air as he felt the painful prick of the digger's air-pump STABBING him in the side. Dig-Dug flinched as he managed to pick himself off the ground and rubbed his sore back.

"Yeah! Next time, I'm goin' inta ACTION ya MOOK!" the tiny man cried as Ralph finally landed a good 20 feet away. It took a moment or two for Ralph to come to, thanks in part to the continuous screaming that Don was giving off.

"Please, programmers! I JUST WANT THIS NIGHT TA END!"

**_*BOOM!*_**

**_"MOTHER FLUBBERS GABBY TUB-BUTT KNOCKERS!"_**

Ralph was near to weeping by now, his energy near to zero but Don was still going strong, the man running off towards another game.

What game?

**MORTAL KOMBAT.**

Oh dear.

The real trouble was about to begin.

"U-Ung…I need a fix!" the wrecker moaned, every inch of his body aching "Felix! WHERE ARE YA?!"

The huge man picked himself up and began to stagger back to Fix-it-Felix Jr. but in his want and desire to return home, he unknowingly passed by two other Nicelanders, the pair looking all over the place for any sign of their friends.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that Lucy would be easy to spot now!" Mary said in frustration.

Gene wiped his brow as he leaned against a wall "Remember what I said about having location chips grafted to the back of everyone's necks just in case something like this would happen? Starting to see that I was right. HUH?!"

Mary ignored her fiancé's words, instead turning her sights on the crowd "Gene, we can't give up now! Ya know we have work later this morning!"

"I know, I KNOW! Just give me a moment so I can get myself together!" the mayor yelled, rubbing his head. He was clearly not in the mood to continue hunting for everyone, the only thing on his mind being that of getting into bed and sleeping the rest of the night away.

Or drinking. Drinking was a wonderful option as well.

Mary could hear Don screaming over by a far off game but she was still wary on what to do to confront him. She was all too aware of what Turbo-Pies could do to a person and even in her present state she would be no match for someone how was nearly half a foot taller than her with enough strength to break a semi-truck with his bare hands.

"I wonder if I found Ralph, maybe HE could help us get Don down!"

"_Urgh! My head!_" called a voice, one much too far away for Mary to hear.

Without thinking twice, Mary took off towards Don, throwing all her caution and worry to the wind. Gene reached out for the woman, more concerned for her wellbeing than his own.

"Dear?! What are you doing?!"

"What do you THINK I'm doing, Gene?" the woman called as she looked back "I'm taking care of this madness before we turn this entire place upside down!"

"Mary! WAIT!"

Mary was off on her own quest to even listen to Gene, her focus on that of stopping her neighbor from tearing up the station even more than it already had been.

"Okay. Midnight Bliss and Turbo-Pies! Two things that Nicelanders shall NEVER come into contact with AGAIN!" Mary thought to herself as she continued to run, not noticing that as she ran past several games she was starting to garner some attention herself.

"Hey, ya see that?" asked a character.

"Ya mean the lil curvy cutie in pink?" winked his companion "Mmm, sure did!"

Mary stopped in her tracks once she saw how HUGE the crowd was getting. Pushing through was going to take some effort but it also meant she was going to lose some time.

"Darn it…if I could find another way, maybe-!"

"Heeeey bay-BEE!"

The woman in pink jolted for a second as she turned, seeing two unfamiliar characters walking up to her, each one giving her rather playful and flirty looks. From their muscular designs, Mary figured they were from one of the new sports games that had been put into the arcade recently. Either way, they were looking towards Mary as if they had never laid eyes upon a woman in their lives.

And that thought sent a shiver down the Nicelander's spine.

Oh, if only she were back in her original form. She knew that she wouldn't have been given a second glance by the pair if she were back to normal but there she was, standing before the two men and her chances of getting to Don quickly slipping from her grasp.

"Uh….may I help you, young men?"

"Aw, she's so PROPER!" said the first one, chuckling as he ran his fingers through his hair "Its nice to see ladies like that!"

"I know!" said the second "And her looks are even more fancy than her speech!"

_What in the world?_

Mary didn't have to be told what was about to happen; she knew when she was being flirted with and despite how young and chiseled the young athletes looked, she was in no mood to be chatty with them.

"Ooookay, boys. Nice comments but I don't have time for-!"

"Wait, wait! Hang on babe, maybe it would be better for a nice dame like yourself ta get inside." The first one said, waggling his eyebrows towards Mary "Ya know, so a pretty lil thing like yourself won't get hurt."

"I am FULLY capable of taking care of myself, I'll have you know!" the Nicelander in pink said angrily, crossing her arms against her chest "Or do I need to SHOW you to get my point across?"

"Oh, she's a HOT one!" the second one laughed "Makes me wonder why she doesn't wear RED 'stead of PINK!"

Mary placed her head in her palms at the comment; there was no way she could escape this with grace with the way those two were going about. Maybe it would be best to just leave which for her wouldn't have been a problem as every second she spent around the two only became more and more uncomfortable.

"Alright. This is a waste of my time. I need to-!"

Just as Mary turned, she felt a strong grip latch onto her arm followed by a yank backwards. The woman squealed, turning her view to one of the men who was now holding her as if he were ready to fly off with her somewhere for her 'protection'.

"Like I said, hold on honey!" the first man smiled "It ain't safe out here for ya tonight! Ya better come with us before things REALLY start to heat up!"

"EXCUSE ME!" Mary snapped, yanking her arm away "Did I give you permission to put your hands on me?!"

"Hey, hey! It's gonna be alright! Cool it!" the man said, clueless as to why Mary was trying to get away from him and only moving closer, putting his finger under her chin "There's no need ta get so heated here, sugar-thighs!"

Mary's glare turned ice-cold, "_Did you really say 'sugar-thighs' to me?_"

"I'm just doin' what any GENTLEMAN would-!"

**_*WHAM!*_**

Mary let out a startled yell as she watched the man who had grabbed her FALL to the floor like a tree, his body rolling once as he landed flat on his face.

"WHOA! Ya okay man?!"

Mary looked over, trying to get a good view of whoever threw the punch.

"G-GENE?!"

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA OF PUTTIN' YOUR HANDS ON MY FIANCE?!" roared the mayor, his entire face red and his hands still clenched together. Mary was flabbergasted but not because she had witnessed Gene hitting someone.

Gene hit people all the time; it wasn't THAT uncommon!

What WAS uncommon was to see his blow actually KNOCK SOMEONE OUT!

"Honey….you didn't kill him did you?"

Gene was still huffing mad but hearing Mary's voice instantly snapped him from his rage induced stupor. He took one look at the down body but then looked at his own fist.

He really HAD knocked someone out and to his surprise, it took a lot less effort than he could have imagined.

"H-huh, guess there IS an advantage to being anatomically correct!"

"YO! WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!"

Gene had only a second before he himself fell victim to a powerful sock to the eye, the man flying back and landing right at the feet of a horrified Mary.

**_"GENE!"_**

Gene moaned in pain as he opened his eye, seeing THREE of his beloved Mary before him. He smiled painfully, reaching up for the woman.

"_W-would ya imagine that it even HURTS less ta be hit now?_"

"THINK YA CAN JUST HIT MY PAL LIKE THAT, FATTY!?"

The second athlete.

He was READY for a fight!

"W-wait! There is no need for this!" Mary stammered as she tried to pull Gene off the ground "We already have our hands full so another fight will only-!"

"Aw, SHUT YER TRAP Pinkie!" the second man said, giving the Nicelander a rather rude shove as he made his way over towards Gene.

Pinkie?

PINKIE?!

If there was ONE thing Mary HATED to be called!

The first athlete managed to pick himself up and joined his cohort who had now lifted Gene off the ground, the Nicelander gritting his teeth in pain as his collar was held tightly around his neck.

"Ya know, we usually like to keep things nice an' peaceful here near our game…." the second athlete hissed angrily "But did ya really THINK we'd let a lil butter-ball like YA knock us out? DID YA?!"

Gene opened his good eye, returning the nasty glare the two were giving him "O-oh? And you call accosting ladies PEACEFUL?"

"Oh, we have a comedian here!" the second athlete grimaced, placing his hand roughly on Gene's shoulder "First ya thought your PUNCH was funny an' not that retort! HA! I'll give ya some credit, ya have GUTS tryin' ta one-up us…"

The looks on the men's faces darkened, both looking as if they were ready to pull Gene apart right then and there!

"But there is a reason why its never a good idea to ONE-UP US!"

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

The man turned but as he did so, his face once again met with a high-speed flying fist, his other cheek receiving the brunt of the punch now!

"_N-not again!_"

"Hey, what-?!"

**_*WHAP!*_**

The first man felt a hard SLAP resonate on the back of his head causing him to let go of Gene as he dropped to the floor! The mayor was stunned but his eyes went over to his beloved Mary, seeing the woman standing over everyone with a HORRID look of anger on her face, her left shoe clenched tightly in her hands.

Oh yeah, she meant BUSINESS.

"Hey, the hell was that for ya crazy bi-!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

And just when the fight with Don looked as if it couldn't be topped, another fight had just begun.

Mary jumped atop her attacker, grabbing onto the man and beating him with her shoe.

"DON'T YOU DARE PUT A HAND ON MY GENE, YA HERE!"

"GAH! LADY!"

"OH, NOW ITS LADY! NO MORE SUGAR THIGHS, HUH?!"

"W-wait!" cried the second man "Okay, we get it! Just-!"

**_*WHAM!*_**

One more punch to the jaw!

"Urgh, is there a TARGET on my face or somethin'?!"

"YEAH! LEMME GET IT OFF FOR YA!" shouted Gene as he jumped the man, joining Mary in her fight.

As if things were not exciting enough as it was in the station, now Gene and Mary had somehow managed to get themselves into smack-down.

"IF YOU EVER TRY TOUCHING HER LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"DON'T YOU DARE PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!"

And as if they were linked in both mind and fighting spirit, these words came from both their mouths at the same time.

**_"IF YOU EVEN LAND ONE HAND ON MY FIANCE, I'M GONNA USE YOUR BACKSIDE IN A PIE AND BURY THE REST OF YOU IN THE BACKYARD!"_**

By now, a large group of onlookers had begun form around the four, several cheers and whistles coming through.

"Wow! Forget about the fight happenin' in MK! This is AWESOME! Why don't we have more outdoor matches like this more often?" cheered a character.

* * *

Ralph staggered into the apartments, looking every which way for Felix or ANYONE to help him.

"Guuys? GUYS!" the man called "Oh PLEASE tell me someone is here!"

The wrecker needed bandages, he needed stiches, he needed ANYTHING to patch him up before he headed back into the melee that was now forming in the station. He leaned on the wall of the apartments, trying to make his way towards Felix's place.

"I think I would get there faster if I just fell on the floor and ROLLED!" the man groaned.

Ralph managed to make his way over to Felix's place but as he dreaded, no one was home.

"Figures…" the huge man growled "I don't know WHY I thought he'd be back by now!"

The penthouse?

No go. It too like the rest of the apartments was empty.

"When will this night end? WHEN?!" the man cried in anguish, knocking his head on the wall so hard that it actually put a dent in it.

"Gah! NOT AGAIN!"

Ralph looked up, surprised to hear the voice of someone in the apartments.

"H-Hello?"

The man looked over towards the left, noticing that one of the apartment doors looked as if it had been kicked in by someone.

Should he venture to see what was lurking behind the door?

Or was this going to be yet another terrible choice that would later come back to bite him?

Ralph bit his lip, hesitating on what to do but remembering what was going on at the moment the wrecker couldn't back away now. Perhaps there was someone in the apartment ready to help him!

Perhaps-!

"HELLO RALPH."

Perhaps there were two Nicelanders sitting on the couch, glaring up at him as if they just EXPECT him to come in at the moment.

Ralph twitched as he looked down at Nel and Norwood, the two giving the man such a cold glare he was sure the apartment was several degrees COLDER than the rest of the building. He peered around for a split second but quickly deduced that he had come in at the wrong time.

Maybe SEVERAL people had come in at the wrong time!

"Er….ya guys okay?" the big man asked nervously, trying to clear the air.

Norwood said nothing, the look on his face all too telling for Ralph.

"YEAH. We're FINE." Nel said harshly, her eyes still on Ralph.

"Ummm, next time I should knock?" Ralph chuckled nervously.

"That would be a WISE thing to consider!" Norwood finally said, his voice just filled with sarcasm.

"R-right…." the other man mumbled, blushing brightly "J-Just make sure….ya guys stay here? Please?"

Nel arched a brow "Oh, you don't have to worry about US."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the three, Ralph still lost on what to tell the two and how to apologize for walking in on them.

"Um, next time. I'll knock."

"PLEASE DO."

Without saying another word, Ralph slowly made his way out of the apartment, shutting the broken door behind him. Alone with Norwood once more, Nel let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Perhaps we should NAIL the door shut."

"Knowin' everyone, they'll bust through somehow!"


	9. Chapter 9- IDs

Chapter Nine- IDs

Felix panted heavily as he made his way to the center of the station.

What a night. What a HORRIBLE night! This was his third trip through the station and each time he came close to gathering up the Nicelanders, something happened to get in his way. He had been thrown, stepped on, stomped! So many things had happened to the poor man that he wasn't sure he could take it anymore.

But he knew he had to continue, if not for Niceland than for the sake of everyone else in the arcade! He was just so stunned what the Nicelanders were capable of doing on their own.

"W-what has gotten into 'em?!" the man said as he wiped his brow, leaning against one of the benches in the station.

"FELIX!"

The repairman turned, seeing Ralph running from the game.

"Aw, man! Am I glad ta see ya!"

Ralph stopped in front of the repairman, surprised to see him so exhausted "Okay. I have some good news an' some bad news!"

"Good news?" Felix said, his eyes lighten up "Good is GOOD! I could use some GOOD! Gimme tha GOOD, PLEASE!"

Ralph backed away as he saw the madness in Felix's eyes; maybe things were worse than he thought.

"Um, well-! We do have TWO Nicelanders in tha apartment!"

"I KNOW THAT ALREADY!" Felix blustered, leaping up to his feet as he clutched his hat to his head "NEL AN' NORY HAVE BEEN DOIN' THAT HANKY-PANKY ALL NIGHT SO-!"

"_Gah! Not so loud, buddy!_" Ralph said, trying to calm the repairman down "_We're in public!_"

"SO?! SO!? It didn't take me THAT long to figure out what they were doin' when I left! I AIN'T THAT STUPID!"

Ralph grabbed Felix around his mouth with his enormous hands, lifting him off the ground.

"Yeeeeeah, we better this end this an' NOW! You're about to have a nervous breakdown!"

"MPPH! MMMMPH!"

Ralph made his way towards the crowd that was soon gathering towards another game, figuring with all the yammering that was going on there, a Nicelander was there making it WORSE. In his haste, he failed to notice the other fight that was going on near the end of the halls, bloodthirsty screams and landing blows easily heard.

"YOU APOLOGIZE TO HER YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE!" shouted a chubby blue figure.

"NOT UNTIL YOU GET OFFA ME YA TUB'A LARD!" returned another character.

"DON'T CALL GENE FAT! THAT'S MY JOB!" hollered a little woman in pink.

If only Ralph and the others were around to witness the true glory of the spectacle that was happening that moment. If only Ralph and the others could see the sight before them.

There in front of everyone were two Blissed Nicelanders, one Nicelander Mary and one Nicelander Gene, beating the living tar out of two characters. Gene was wrestling on the ground with the character who started the tussle, his comments at about Mary still fueling his anger. Mary on the other hand was clutching onto the back of the other, her legs kicking the in air as she slapped her hands upon his eyes and face, the character left with nothing more to do than scream at the top of his lungs as he spun in circles, trying with all his might to throw the woman off of him.

"GET HER OFF! GET HER OFF! SHE'S TEARING ME AP-!"

There was a crackle! There was a spark!

And then-!

"What is going ON here?!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks as a flash of blue light appeared before all, the form of Surge materializing and from the looks on the man's face, he was not happy! Not in the least!

"SURGE!" shouted Gene, his chubby cheeks smushed on the ground.

"So, decided to take your fighting OUTSIDE the game, eh?" the guard said, tapping his finger on his folder arms.

"Its-! Its not what it looks like, s-sir!" the first athlete said, shoving Gene off of him and getting to his feet "THESE two-!"

"**_YAAAARGH!_**"

Mary had pulled hard once again, the second character finally giving in and falling to his knees, only to cause Mary to roll forward and land at Surge's feet. The man let out a gasp as the woman lay in front of him, her clothing pulled every which way and her hair a mess. She looked back, a horrid frown on her face.

"Oooh, you try that again on me and I SWEAR-!"

"Wait a second…." Surge said, looking down at Mary with a confused look on his face "Who in the arcade ARE you?"

"Eh?!" the woman said, turning pink "_Oh wait…._"

Gene hobbled over to his fiancé, pulling her back "Oh no, we're not doing this again! Surge, these two ACCOSTED Mary first! Calling her such FILTHY names!"

"Mary? Mary WHO?!"

"NICELANDER MARY OF COURSE!" gene roared, his face turning red in anger "For cryin' out LOUD! When we need help from you, you act as incompetent as-!"

"Hold on buddy, lemme see your ID!"

"WHAT?! You've got to be kidding me!" huffed Gene, reaching into his wallet. Luck would have it that it was still in his pocket and it hadn't fallen out during the fight "Of all the stupid, worthless, no good…"

The man flipped the cover up, ready to hand the item over to Surge.

"_Here…as if you needed any more proof ya foggy-eyed-!._"

Mary leapt on the mayor, pulling his arm back "GENE!"

"What?!"

"_Eh-heh, I think there might be a teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy but really, really important fact you've forgotten._"

Gene turned and gave Mary a nasty glare. He was sore, he was tired and he was in no mood to deal with any other drama for the night "And what would that-?!"

"Hey! This isn't you!"

The mayor felt his blood running cold as he suddenly figured out exactly what his darling Mary was talking about.

While the Bliss had done wonders for ALL the Nicelanders, some things HADN'T changed.

One of those being the photos on their identification.

"_Awwwww, __**SHIT.**_"

"So smart-guy, starting fights AND stealing IDs?" Surge said angrily, shoving Gene's wallet into his face "I was going to let you off with a small ticket but now? HA, you've just dug your grave even deeper!"

"Now hold on here!" Said Mary as she got up "Surge, I can assure you that we're still-!"

"Not another word from YOU lady! You're in trouble too!"

"What, ME?!" said Mary, pointing to herself in anger "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Dear!"

Surge took his clipboard, writing a few notes down "Public fighting, stealing property, talking back! Heh, you're stackin' up a nice list here if I do say so myself…."

The two Nicelanders looked at each other. They knew they had to get out of there as soon as possible as things were quickly going from bad to worse.

"_Genie? Dear?_" Mary whispered over to Gene, the tenderly touching his blackened eye "_Once we're married, I never want you to mention this to anyone again…._"

"_Sure, sure. But what are you getting ready to-!_"

"**_OH MY PROGRAMMERS!_**" gasped Mary "**_SOMEONE IS WRITING 'I LIKE MAI'S TITS' ON THE WALL SURGE! IN REALLY BRIGHTLY COLORED SPRAY PAINT AND BIG LETTERS TOO!_**"

Surge let out a gasp, his form sparking in anger as he turned. First he had to take care of these two and now that?

"You've got to be-!"

The guard felt a little twitch in his ear.

"_They didn't…._"

He turned back around and to his great dismay, both mysterious figures were gone, not a trace of them to be found in the crowd. Surge rubbed the bridge of his nose as he bit his lip.

"_Every time._ I fall for it EVERY time!"

"SURGE!"

The man let out a yelp as he turned, seeing Calhoun running up to him. He shook in his circuits, having good reason to do so since the woman looked furious!

"Gah, I'll clean up the graffiti in a second! Give me chance Sarge, give me a CHANCE!"

"What graffiti?" the woman growled "I'm lookin' for the Nicelanders!"

"Nicelanders?" asked Surge "Speak of the devil! Two hooligans were here just a second ago and tried to give me Gene's ID to cover their tracks! They might have THOUGHT they could pull the wool over my eyes but it doesn't matter HOW much make-up or clothes ya put on ta look like a Nicelander! I can never get past Surge!"

The look on Calhoun's face was something that should have been photographed and kept for prosperity. Never in her life had she shown a face of such disillusion, anger, and let down all at the same time as she looked at Surge, not sure whether to kick him or just let the man be. She looked down, seeing that he still had Gene's wallet clutched in his hand. She said not a word as she took the thing from the man's grip, marching off in anger as she stormed her way into the crowd.

"Wait! What if Mayor Gene comes back for that?!"

* * *

"I tell you young lady, this entire night has been one growing FIASCO!"

"Oh, that's TERRIBLE Mr. Nolan!" said a certain pink princess, a hand held to her face "More tea?"

"Thank you Peach…" the man smiled, holding his cup "If it wasn't bad enough that we were forced to stay in the apartments, once we got out all heck breaks lose here! Wouldn't ya agree Roy?"

Roy said nothing, sitting at the table and looking ahead at nothing. The tiny tea-cup was still held in his fingers as he shook slightly.

Poor Roy; he KNEW something terrible was going to happen once things returned to normal but the only question he had was WHAT exactly would be the punishment that he and the rest of his Nicelander neighbors would get.

If only he had stayed back at the apartments. If only.

"Mr. Roy?" asked Peach in concern "Are you okay?"

"Ah? Ehehe…s-sure I am." the man chuckled nervously "J-J-Just give me a moment…."

Nolan patted Roy on the shoulder, shaking his head "Trust me buddy, this is the safest place we can be at the moment."

"Hey! Someone turn on the TV!" shouted a Troopa.

"What's going on?" asked Peach as the little creature ran past her, looking for the remote.

"Ya HAFTA see for yourself! There's some fight startin' in Mortal Kombat!"

"Oh, BOO!" puffed Peach, her hands to her sides "There's always a fight in that game. What could POSSIBLY be any different this time?"

The Troopa finally found the remote, turning on the large screen. He looked up at the people above him, smirking "Heh, you'll see. You'll see."

The TV flickered on, the creature flipping through the channels until the familiar site of the fighting game appeared on the screen. It seemed that more people were there than usual, the crowd cheering loudly as two fighters began tearing their way through each other.

But they weren't any fighters that the characters had seen before. In fact, they looked NOTHING like the typical fighters in the Mortal Kombat line-up.

They lacked the muscles and the dark designs, looking more cartoonish, round and-!

"NO." Nolan said, taking off his glasses and wiping them off, making sure that he was not seeing things "You have got to be kidding me!"

"**_I'M GONNA BREAK YER BUTT IN HAAAAAALF!_**"

That accent. That familiar accent.

"You're only doing this to yourself Don. You wanna end it, SIT DOWN!"

"Dee-Dee! NO! You're going to hurt him!"

"MEG! GET BACK!"

Don.

Deanna.

Meg.

Someway, SOMEHOW, the three Nicelanders had made their way all the way to Mortal Kombat and if it wasn't bad enough that Deanna and Don were apparently the top attraction going on, now EVERYONE in the arcade knew that the Nicelanders had been Blissed. Peach stood in shock, Nolan simply shook his head, and Roy?

Roy passed out.

***WHUMP!***

"AH! MR. ROY!" cried Peach in concern.

"Leave 'im…." Said Nolan "He'll be fine soon enough…."

"_Doom, doom, doom, doom….._"

"There, ya see?"


	10. Chapter 10-Choose Your Stupidity

Chapter Ten –Choose Your Stupidity

_~Before all the insanity~_

"Who knew that Don could run so fast!" panted Lucy "Guess being that tall DOES help!"

"Who kn-?!" growled Deanna "**_YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SHOVED A TURBO PIE IN HIS MOUTH!_** Ya know what happens when we eat those things!"

"Hey, if you're so concerned about it now, why didn't you stop me?" pouted Lucy as she looked up at her neighbor "You were right there. Ya could have said 'Lucy, no! Don will go crazy.' Or somethin' but ya choose ta sit around and-!"

"Guys! We have more important things to worry about!" gasped Tony "Don is cartin' Meg off to Mortal Kombat!"

"So?" said Lucy "It's not like those guys are gonna rip us apart or somethin'. They're friendly enough!"

"Yeah, when we're SANE!" Tony shook "Don's actin' as if he's ready ta bust someone's face in! How are things gonna go when THAT happens!"

"_Oooooh_, ya DO have a point…." The youngest Nicelander said, putting a hand to her mouth "Maybe if we explain it to them GENTLY."

Before Lucy could think further, a loud crash broke through the entrance of the familiar fighting game.

"Bwoah! What the-?!"

"**_GET OUTTA MAH WAY BEFORE I CHOP UP YOUR LIVERS FOR CHUM!_**"

"Uggh, Donnie?" mumbled Meg, waking up from her dreams of cuddling with her crush "Wh-what are you-?"

The woman was thrown violently around in Don's arms, the man holding her in his clutches as if she were some sort of prize for him to protect.

"BACK! BACK!" the man snarled, hitting Sub-Zero atop his head with the broken leg of a chair "YA SHALL NOT TAKE MY LOVE N' PRIDE AWAY!"

"Donald, STOP!" Meg cried out, kicking her legs in fury "These people have done NOTHING to you! Stop before you get yourself killed! OR US! I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THIS EITHER!"

"MEGAAAAAAAAN!" cried out Lucy "Hold on! We're comin' for ya!"

"Oh programmers HELP ME!" the woman cried "Don's gone NUTS, he keeps hitting people and I never knew he could be so foul-mouthed!"

"Well, I wonder if this has lessened her crush on him…" Lucy snickered, knowing full well this was no time to laugh.

"Ya know something, LUCILE." Deanna said in a cold tone, stooping down to the young woman "As funny as this seems to you, your little 'actions' have put EVERYONE in this arcade in danger. Have you ever thought about that?"

The little Nicelander felt her cheeks turning red, never seeing Deanna so angry towards her in her life "B-But Dee-Dee!"

The larger woman shook her head, putting a hand up "You can save the explanation for LATER, Lucile. Right now, you've done enough. I'M going to take care of this."

"YOU?" asked Tony, stunned at his neighbors declaration "But HOW? Don's like…RALPH-STRENGTH now!"

Deanna said nothing, lowering her glasses a bit "Don't worry. I'm well equipped to face off somethin' like this."

"Deanna?"

Without saying another word, Deanna reached up for the collar of her dress….

**_*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!*_**

And tore it off as if it were tissue paper, revealing ANOTHER outfit underneath, one that looked as if it were designed specifically for fighting, SPECIFICALLY for Mortal Kombat.

"Heh, I knew those lessons would pay off!" Deanna said proudly to herself, dashing off to Don.

"_W-wait….you've been wearing that under your dress for h-how long?_" whimpered Lucy.

Deanna didn't even waste a beat, jumping up into the air and SOCKING Don in the face.

"**_BLUAGH!_**"

The man let go of Meg, the Nicelander tumbling down to the ground with a scream, only to be caught by an waiting Kitana below.

"You okay?" the fighter asked. Meg squirmed in her arms, trying to get back to the others.

"I-I'm okay! I just need to-!"

Another yell and a scream was enough to tell Meg that things WEREN'T alright, that there was still a fight going on not too far from her. She turned and gasped, seeing Don FLIP Deanna over, landing atop her with all his weight and might.

"DONALD! STOP!"

"HAHAH! I'VE GOT YA DEE-DEE!" Don cackled, forcing more weight onto the woman. Deanna reached up as best she could, grabbing Don around his arms.

"I-I don't think so!"

Using all the strength she had, Deanna managed to pull Don's arms off of her, shoving him over to the side. The sailor made a quick scream as he rolled over but Deanna was too fast for him, crashing into him HARD and putting him into a leg lock.

"Okay, DOOOON. Calm down!" the woman panted "We're gonna take ya home, give ya some tea an' FINALLY let all this Turbo-Pie get outta your system!"

"LEMME GOOOO!" Don roared, trying but failing to free himself from Deanna's hold "THERE IS NO WAY I'M GONNA LET YOU STOP ME YA-!"

Don shifted his weight, pushing Deanna back but the woman was still fighting, pressing forward with all her might to keep him down!

"UURGH! DON!"

With a sharp turn, Don managed to slip his hand free and drawing a fist back….

"**_YO-HO-HO! GET DA HECK OFFA MAH BACK!_**"

Deanna could feel a mighty force crash into her chest, the woman flying into the air like a rocket!

"DEE-DEE!" shouted Meg.

"WHOA!" cried Lucy, back into Tony "Never thought Don would do somethin' like that!"

Had it not been for the miracle of game physics, Deanna's landing would have proven not only to be a painful one but a deadly one at that. She landed rather hard on a few characters, the lot screaming in shock to have the woman sailing towards them from the air. Don stood seven feet away, snarling and huffing like an animal as Deanna lay crumpled atop the characters she had landed on, the people around her unsure what to do or even if she was aware that there were injured people under HER!

Lucy and Tony ran towards the woman, knocking people out of the way as they moved closer.

"Deanna! Oh, DEANNA!" cried Lucy, finally seeing the gravity of the situation that was more or less HER fault to begin with "Oh no, no, no! Please be okay! Please be-!"

"He punched me in the boob…." Deanna said in a shaking voice, holding herself tighter.

"What?"

Deanna stood up, anger slowly creeping onto her face and her hands looking as if they were ready to go through a brick wall.

"He punched me….in the **_BOOOOOOOB!_**"

"Oh."

Deanna turned towards Don, pointing at him in fury "Oh, its on now. I was just playing nice with ya before but after THIS? SAY YOUR PRAYERS, SHARK BOY!"

"I can get worse, can it?" Tony moaned, lowering his head.

The sailor didn't have a chance to look as he felt a FOOT slamming into his face, the man flying back what had to be a good five feet from where he stood! Meg screamed as she watched Don fly back but she was even more stunned at WHO had sent him back!

Deanna.

And she looked beyond angry.

"I'll teach you to punch me like that!"

"Dee-Dee, WAIT!"

Deanna made another leap in the air, landing atop Don with all the force she could but the man caught her, gripping her legs tightly.

"Ya were sayin'?" the man smiled madly.

"Donald, **_AURGH!_**"

And that was when one of the best fights in Litwak's Arcade history began.

The two Nicelanders clashed again, a crowd drawing nearer as the fight got all the more ridiculous.

"Whoa! Ya gotta check this out! This lady with great boobs is fighting this sailor dude!" shouted someone.

"Count me in!"

"_Oh, nooooooo…._" moaned Meg "_What are we going to do now?_"

Lucy looked at the fight, still in disbelief as to what was happening before her. Both of her neighbors were fighting one another, each one just ready to tear the other apart. To whom to cheer for, she had no idea who to pick because either way, either Don or Deanna would kick her butt once things were cleared up. The little Nicelanders looked off to the side, remembering that not too far away was DDR.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Yumi.

A familiar figure peered over, lifting up his glasses to get a better look "Urgh. I dunno but it might be best that we don't get involved in it!"

Skrillex!

Lucy could feel her heart going all a flutter as she saw the figure running into the entrance of the game, leaving her completely oblivious to the fight that was happening behind her.

"No Don, NO! Don't snap her bra!" shouted Tony

***SNAP!***

"AUURGH! You old-!"

The young Nicelander peered over again, seeing that the fight was getting worse as was the crowd forming around the group. Perhaps with the way things were going, a retreat was in order.

But her friends were still there! They still needed help!

But the fight was getting dangerous!

But to leave a Nicelander, TWO Nicelanders, in need!

"_The fight? Skrillex? The fight? Skrillex?_" Lucy thought to herself, looking back at both games.

"I'LL TEACH YA TO PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME LIKE THAT!" bellowed Deanna, taking Don around his chubby middle and slamming him down on the ground.

"OOOOOH!" roared the crowd, wanting more of the action.

"Forget it. I'm goin' with Skrillex." Lucy said, dashing off as fast as she could.

"Lucy! Wait!" Tony, running after the girl "What about-!? How can we-?! Don't leave us!"

Tony ran after Lucy, missing the beautiful sight of Don holding Deanna over his head and spinning her around as the woman screamed at the top of her lungs. Still in the front of the crowd, Meg was beside herself in panic on what to do.

"Will someone please stop this?! Hello?! ANYONE?!"

"Mmmm, it's been a while since anyone's come in…." cooed Norwood, rubbing his hand against Nel's luscious thighs.

"Ya make is sound like ya WANT someone ta come in now." The woman snickered cattily, poking the man on his nose.

"Don't jinx it. We were havin' a great stint after Ralph left…."

"To tell ya the truth, I'm starting to get worried." Nel said sadly, moving closer to Norwood "It has been hours since anyone has come back. What if something TERRIBLE has happened?"

"Am I hearin' this right?" snorted the red-head "Nicelander Nel, actin' all sad an' concerned? I never thought I would see tha day!"

"NORY." The woman huffed, pushing the man roughly "Ya act as if I'm heartless or somethin'!"

"Okay, okay. I was just jokin'!" the man laughed, moving over and kissing the woman on the nose "But really? Those guys have it covered, I bet ya they do!"

_RIIIING!_

The two Nicelanders looked at each other, a little surprised to hear the phone ringing.

"Should I-?" Norwood said, pointing towards the phone.

Nel shook her head, rolling over towards the phone "Lemme get it…"

*click, click*'

"Hello?"

"_Nel? Ya okay?_"

"Nolan?" the woman said, sitting up "Is everything alright? Where are you at?"

"_I'm with Roy in Mario Tennis! Aside from the fact that Roy passed out again, we're fine!_"

"But what about the others?" asked the Nicelander, growing more concerned by the second "We haven't heard a word from them so we don't-!"

"_Nel? Sweetie? Turn on to channel four…._"

"Channel four?" the woman asked in confusion, looking over at Norwood "What's goin-?"

"_Trust me, just turn on the TV._"

Nel gave Norwood another glance, the man reaching over for the remote and turning the TV on. Just by luck, the right station was on and as the two looked at the screen….

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are seeing a fight that has never been recorded here in Litwak history! Two fighters are duking it out right here in Mortal Kombat but what is so shocking is that he had NO idea who these two are or WHAT game they are from!"

"WHY ARE YOU MAD AT ME?!" shouted Don.

"YOU HIT ME IN THE BOOB, DON! HOW COULD YOU?!" cried Deanna.

"IT'S NOT LIKE I CAN MISS 'EM! THEY'RE MASSIVE WHATEVER FORM YOU'RE IN!"

"You son of a-"

Nel and Norwood just looked at the screen, their jaws dropped.

"_Nel? Nel? Honey, are you there?_"

Nel lifted the phone towards her mouth, a crazed smile forming "Y-Yeah….Can y-ya call us back?"

"_Nel? Nel, what's wrong? And what do you mean by US?! IS NORWOOD IN THERE?! I SWEAR TO PROGRAMMERS IF HE-!_"

*click!*

As the battle continued on screen, the two Nicelanders found they could not look away. It was as if some spectacular disaster had opened up before them and taken all sense from them to avert their eyes. What they were witnessing was some sort of beautiful mess of chaos. They KNEW that things were not going to end well but for everything that was in them, they just didn't want to look away. They wanted to see just how far things could get.

"Don't turn the channel…." Norwood said, rushing out of the bed.

"Where are YOU goin'?"

"Ta get some popcorn! This is just too good!"

"OOOOOH! It seems like the lady threw the man out into the crowd!"

"THIS is why you should learn to keep your mouth shut, Don!"


	11. Chapter 11- Confessions

Chapter Eleven – True Confessions of a Nicelander Mind

One wrecker, one repairman, and one marine stood outside of a game, each one looking haggard, tired and angry.

What do they do next?

"Ya know, if I didn't feel GUILTY about it, I would totally cram your neighbors into a bucket to make sure they NEVER escape again!" Calhoun growled.

"TAMMY!" shouted Felix but the man stopped himself "I prefer a BOX. They conform into shapes rather well so I think a box look would be GOOD!"

"Guys, c'mon." Ralph moaned, pulling both towards the entrance of Darkstalkers "The sooner we talk to Demitri, the sooner all this can be OVER!"

The three stormed the castle, ignoring the others who were sitting by, wondering what could have caused the three to walk in.

"Great, what did Demi do THIS time?" asked Felicia.

Calhoun kicked upon the front doors of the vampire's mansion, shocking two familiar succubi who sat enar the front, watching what appeared to be a fight on their TV.

"Mpph! Whatever it is, blame Demitiri!" Morrigan mumbled, popcorn in her mouth.

"_Where…IS __**HE**_**?**" growled Calhoun, her guns aimed and ready.

The two sisters looked at each for a moment but even with the guns pointed at them, they didn't feel threatened. Lilith reached up and lowered the barrel.

"Like Sissy said, blame Demitri for all of this. He's in his room."

"Doin' what?!"

"Passed out I think. Whatever the guy took in the other night really threw him for a loop…." The small girl said, returning her focus on the TV.

"Oh! And it looks like Sailor Man took a punch to the knee!"

"**_AUUUUUUURGH!_**"

Felix blinked worryingly, noticing that the two fighters on the screen looked awfully familiar "Hey, are those-?"

"Leave it Felix, leave it…" Ralph sighed, picking the man up by his collar and pulling him along.

* * *

"Coffee and Excedrins. The perfect cure-all!"

"YO, Bat-Butt!"

Demitri jerked forward, dropping his strange caffeinated cocktail on the ground. Seeing the unpleased eyes of Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun did nothing to aid his growing headache but with the way things were heading he knew it would be better NOT to further their fury.

"Ah, my favorite repairman and friends!" the man smiled, walking towards the trio "What brings you here."

"Aw, cut it Demitri! You know EXACTLY why we're here!" barked Calhoun "I don't know how long ya've been cocked up in this castle of yours but are ya aware what your little prank has caused!?"

"Oh, so that would explain that GHASTLY noise I've heard all day…." The vampire said with a sneer "For a moment, I thought it Morrigan's off-key singing."

"_I heard that you butt!_"

"My fellow characters, you need not worry." the man chuckled, hovering around the three "This spell? This Bliss? It has caused no harm to anyone so there is no need to act as if the arcade is going to fall apart!"

"No harm?" Ralph said, his eye twitching "Your spell hasn't caused…ANY? HARM?!"

Demitri turned but as he did so, Ralph SLAMMED his huge fist on the man, plowing him into a nearby wall, the wrecker having finally lost his temper.

"I've been BITTEN! I've been THROTTLED WITH BOAT OARS! I've been stung, stabbed, and everything else under the sun thanks to your spell, Mr.! DOES THAT SOUND 'HARMLESS' TO YOU!?"

Demitri gasped, his hands going atop those of the enormous wrecker "M-my, MY! Someone is in a foul mood!"

"He's not tha ONLY one!" growled Felix, trying his best to seem as tough as he could "Ya mind undoin' tha Bliss so we can ALL get outta this ALIVE?!"

Demitri looked over at the group. While he wasn't one to toy too much with people, the way the three had busted into his lair was starting to push the man over. He smiled, his form dissipating into smoke and fluttering out of Ralph's grip.

"_Hey, what-?_"

"There is no need to be so FORCEFUL, goodness…." The vampire sighed, running his hand through his hair "I can assure you that you and everyone else in this arcade will be fine. But just…just give it a moment."

"We don't have a moment…." Calhoun growled, grabbing the man by his collar "You undo this and you undo it NOW!"

Demitri took one look at Calhoun and then one look at her hand. His eyes returned to the woman and then another glance too him back to her hand.

Was she really handling him like this, as if he were a common criminal? The man smiled again, his eyes narrowing and his sharp teeth showing.

"Well, when you put it THAT way…."

"W-wait! I DIDN'T-!"

***POOF!***

_~As this was going on...~_

"Come on honey, come on!" said Mary as she dragged Gene over to Burger Time, the man still holding his sore eye.

"Nnngh, as thankful as I am to have the power to actually PUNCH someone, something different can be said about how I feel now!"

"Lemme take a look…" Mary said in concern, taking Gene by his fat cheeks. The bruise was starting to get worse, the small spot on his eye spreading and turning a horrid purple color.

"Yikes! You've never taken a blow this bad even when Ralph throws you!"

"Ouch…." The mayor said, his eye twitching "Maybe we should find Felix to fix this but after this wild goose-chase…"

"I'm sure he'll understand…" sighed Mary "But for now, we need to hide. Surge may still be on to us!"

"Then why are we here?" asked Gene, realizing that he and Mary were now going to the BACK of the burger restaurant.

"_Shhhh, I'm not taking any chances._"

The two then approached the back door of the establishment, Mary knocking three times on the panel. A moment or so later, a small window slid open, an eye looking down at the two.

"_What's the password?_"

"_Blast processing._" Whispered Mary, Gene clueless to what was going on.

"_Dear, what are you-?_"

"_Shhh!_"

The door slowly opened, Ms. Tomato leading the two in "Hmm, dare I ask how YOU of all people got the password?"

"Trust me dear, we're regulars." Mary smiled nervously "We just…we just had a bit of an upgrade, if you can call it that!"

"GAH! Aw man, what happened to that dude's eye?!" shouted the tomato, backing away "It's like someone busted it in and its fallin' back on itself!"

"_Maaaary…._" Whimpered Gene, feeling more self-conscious than ever before.

"Dear, if you don't mind. Could we see Pete?" Mary asked, looking back at her fiancé "And could you possibly bring us an ice-pack as well?"

* * *

"Lucy! LUCY! Hold up!" panted Tony, trying to make his way through the crowded dance game. He stopped in the middle of the floor, panting in exhaustion.

Darn it; Lucy had escaped him again.

"Urgh, you're ALWAYS like this!"

Unbeknownst to the Nicelander, Lucy was a lot closer than he thought, the little woman looking down at him from the light-room above.

"Sorry Tony but I have business to take care of." Lucy snickered devilishly.

Of course Lucy would somehow find her way into the light-box of the game. She had been to DDR so many times since it was plugged in, she knew each and every spot in the place but this time, her journey had brought her to someone.

Someone she had wanted to talk to for the longest time.

"_This is it Lucy. This is it….._"

"Mind helping me install these?" Skrillex asked one of the characters, tossing them what appeared to be a microphone. The hand nodded as it walked downstairs and once Skrillex was alone….

"Hey."

The DJ turned, at first not noticing the girl but he did a double take, his eyes wide in surprise at what he was seeing.

"And you are?"

"Skrillex, its ME!" Lucy smiled, pointing to herself. The man looked the changed Nicelander up and down, still not having a clue as to how he was in front of.

"Um, care to run that by me again?"

The Nicelander scoffed, fluffing up the pink streaks in her hair "Who else do ya know with HAIR like this, c'mon!"

Pink streaks, pink streaks, pink streaks?

Bells went off in the man's head, his jaw dropping.

"Lucy? NICELANDER Lucy?!"

"Bingo!" the woman laughed, her arms going out "So what do ya think of the new look! MUCH better than the 80s model huh?"

Skrillex stood silent before the woman, not sure how to react to the sudden change. Granted, how could one react towards the sudden transformation of a woman who was less than three feet tall to one that was…

That was….

That looked SOMEWHAT human.

"Lucy? W-wow….I…."

The man stopped, trying to think of ANYTHING to tell the woman "Er, it's really becomin'!"

Lucy pouted, expecting the man to more or less SWOON at her Blissed form "That's it? It's BECOMIN' of me?! C'mon! Surly seeing me like THIS is impressive or somethin'!"

"Oh, it is!" the man grimaced, scratching his head "It's just…um, why did ya do this?"

"Me? Oh, I didn't do this myself!" the girl twittered "You can thank that scary vampire dude for this!"

"Scary vampire dude?"

"Yup! I guess he felt a lil playful last night and BLISSED the lotta us Nicelanders into THIS! I'm not complain' though; I LIKE the way this turned out!"

Again, Skrillex was left silent at the sight. He wanted to say something to Lucy, something that wouldn't come across as crass or cold but what could he say? Even worse, it was apparent the Nicelander wanted the DJ to comment on her new look, her eyes batting and her body posed in such a way that he could see every curve of her.

"Sooo? What do ya think? Think I fit in with some of your groupies now?" the Nicelander said in a catty voice.

"Lucy…."

"C'mon tell me." The woman smiled "Or maybe I look better?"

"Ya know, from the way you're goin' on about this, you make it sound like I had a problem with the way you looked before hand."

The Nicelander stopped, shocked that of all the things to happen it seemed like Skrillex had seen right through her.

Of course that was it! What other reason would Lucy had gone through all that trouble to make it to restricted areas JUST to see Skrillex? Having been caught in her trick, the young woman frowned, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

"W-what makes ya say THAT?" she sputtered "O-Of course I don't think that. I'm just askin' ya if I would look perfect in your group now!"

Skrillex couldn't help but chuckle to himself, humored at the young woman's pouting "Lulu, seriously? Are ya tellin' me that you went through all this trouble to impress me or somethin'?"

"S-so what if I did?" the woman snapped "From the looks of things now, I guess I wasted my time?"

"No, no, no, no!" said Skrillex "I don't think that! It's just-!"

"Just what then, HUUUUH?" the Nicelander said, getting right into the DJ's face and poking his chest "Ya tellin' me that this is all funny to ya? It's funny that the NICELANDER can't get any appreciation for how she looks, no matter what form she takes?!"

"Lucy, c'mon!"

"Don't C'MON, me mister!" the woman said. A second later she realized what she just said, her face twisting in disgust "URGH! I meant-! Forget what I said there, what I mean is-!"

"Lucy, stop…." The man said, putting his hand on her shoulder "Look, I dunno what's going on in that head of yours but really? I never thought bad of you before."

"R-Really?" Lucy said, her eyes widening "But I always thought, with all the awesome ladies you hang around I didn't stand I chance. I mean, I'm the same age as they are but I usually look like an EGG with legs and hands! I thought-! I thought if I actually LOOKED human then you'd notice me?"

"Are ya kidding?" laughed Skrillex "I notice ya everytime you're on the dance floor! I mean, who couldn't miss a lady dressed like you kicking butt!"

"Yeah, that is fun…." The woman said in a dreamy voice, thinking back to all the nights she spent in the game, bickering with others over what song to put on next "Good times."

"Ms. Lucy, ya don't have ta change for anyone to get them to notice ya. I mean, I thought ya looked FINE before!"

"YA DID?" the Nicelander said in shock.

"Lady, look around us! We have so many different people here so why in the every lovin' code would ya think I would snub my nose at ANYONE? It's not the gentlemanly thing to do..."

Lucy had to admit to herself that she had not expected those words to be given to her. All this time, she had expected Skrillex to fall head over heels for her new form seeing as she was sure that like so many in the arcade, he was turned off by her usual Nicelander form. To hear such sweet words touched the woman.

Not enough to make her cry of course; Lucy may have been love-struck but she wasn't SAPPY.

"Oh, that's so….so AWESOME of ya." The woman smiled, her cheeks turning red "Ya don't know how much that means ta me."

"Hey, anythin' for a fellow music appreciator…." The DJ said as he hugged the woman "But I really wanna know, are ya gonna turn back? How is this gonna work for your game?"

"Oh, right…." Lucy said, looking down at her hands "I dunno know WHEN this is gonna wear off. We all guessed by midnight but since it's past that, maybe…."

Skrillex looked out the window of the light-box, noticing another familiar figure out on the dance floor.

He looked lonely, he looked sad.

Tony.

Niceland Tony.

"Hey, I dunno how much time ya have left but maybe. Maybe ya should spend it with someone special."

"Who?" asked Lucy.

Skrillex bobbed his neck towards the window, Lucy taking a peek out and seeing Tony on the floor.

"Seems kinda lonely, don't ya think? I mean, everyone needs someone so maybe…."

"Wait, are ya tryin' ta hook me up with TONY?" Lucy said in a bewildered tone.

"Um, yeah….is there a problem with th-?"

"HE'S MY BROTHER!"

Skrillex's face dropped as he looked at Lucy, the sides of his mouth twitching "….PARDON?"

"Tony is my older BROTHER." The Nicelander said "Didn't ya know?"

"Apparently, I DID NOT."

Lucy broke into a fit of laughter, her hand going to her head "Oh my-! OH MY PROGRAMMERS! This is just too much!" she laughed, slapping the man hard on his back, succeeding in knocking his glasses off.

"Glad ya like it?"

"Oh my…." The woman sighed, coming off her laughing fit "Ya really do know how to make a girl feel good, ya know that? But seeing as ya did make the suggestion, can I ask for one thing?"

"Er, sure. Hopefully it's not somethin' ta show that you're angry at me."

"Far from it!" beamed Lucy "In fact-!"

Down below in the main dancehall Tony sat alone at one of the booths in the game, his chin resting in his hand.

"So I lose Deanna, I lose Don, and I lose my own sister. The heck is wrong with me?"

"Toooooony?" sang a voice.

The man turned, seeing Lucy standing before him and grinning from ear to ear "Lucile! Oh, thank goodness you're okay!"

"'Course I am, Tony…" the woman laughed, flicking her brother on the nose "Since you've been such a good boy durin' this entire debacle, I think you deserve a treat."

"A treat?"

The light began to dim in the room, several characters beginning to gather around the dance-floor and awaiting the announcement of the next song.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Skrillex called over the loudspeaker "PER REQUEST, HERE IS TONIGHT'S SPECIAL SONG!"

A few notes began to play, Tony's eyes starting to light up.

"I-is that?"

"Yup!"

"Oh my GOOOOOBS!" cried the Nicelander in pure jubilation "Its tha POKERAP!"

_Electrode, Diglet, Nidoran, Mankey!_

Tony was beside himself in joy as the song played loudly on the loudspeakers, not caring a lick that the other patrons of the game had no idea what was going on or even how to dance to the song. The man didn't miss a beat, running out into the dance floor and tearing up a storm to the oddly hypnotic song.

"Do you know how long I've requested this song and it's been looked over? DO YA?"

Lucy chuckled, looking up at the light-box and seeing Skrillex waving down to her. She gave a small wave back returned her eyes to her brother, the sight of his happiness making her own better.

"Well, at least one of us had a good night."

"C'mon! C'mon! Who knows the names? I can't be the only one! Dance with me!"

* * *

"Well, it's starting to look better." Mary smiled, taking the ice-pack off of Gene's face "But once we get home, I'm sure we can convince Felix to work on it."

"MMPH?" the man said, in-between bites of his burgers, pure bliss in hand "What did you say honey?"

"Why Mr. Mayor Nicelander Gene. It has been such a while since I've seen you smile!" the woman laughed "Are you enjoying your meal?"

Gene only nodded, his mouth much too full to do anything but smile. Mary leaned over and kissed her fiancé on the cheek, glad to see him so happy.

"I only give my love the best…." She twittered, giving the man kissy lips as she pulled him slightly "After all, who was the one who beat up that nasty brute who sad those awful things to me?"

The man whined, his hand reaching out for more fries "Mmmph, love-pie!"

The pink Nicelander let out a laugh as she pushed her fiancé back, amused that he now cared more for stuffing his face than his black eye.

"Oh, never change dear. Never change…" she sighed, hugging the man tightly "_Ya greedy thing…_"

Gene pouted, his chubby cheeks making him look more childlike than ever "I am not *HIC* greedy."

"_OOOOOH!_"

The two looked towards the main portion of the restaurant, a large crowd gathered around the TV. Apparently something was going on and despite knowing better, the two Nicelanders HAD to know what was going on. Mary moved forward first, trying to get a view of the TV.

"Well?" asked Gene "What is it?"

"Honey? Remember when we joked about Deanna sneaking off to Street Fighter or Teken or one of those games to get self-defense classes?"

"_Yeaaaaah?_"

"I think our jokes are true."

Gene shot up, running towards the entrance of the door to see in plain view Deanna kicking the living pecan pie out of Don, the woman sitting atop the man and bending his legs back.

"SAY IT NOW! SAY IT NOW!" bellowed the woman.

"AUUUURGH! I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER HITTING YOU THERE! GET OFF!"

"WRONG ANSWER!"

The painful SNAP of something break sent waves of pain throughout the audience, Don screaming at the top of his lungs.

"_Aaaaah!_"winced Mary, ducking down "I guess you're black eye isn't looking too bad is it?"

By now, EVERYONE was tuned into the incredible show but it wasn't just the fact that two 'unknown' figures were fighting that was so incredible but rather no one was doing anything to stop it. If something were to happen to either Nicelanders, it could either spell great harm or a game over for both but no one seemed to stop them, everyone just gathered around and cheering for either even though they still had no clue they were rooting for NICELANDERS.

"I place my bets on the foxy one!" shouted a spectator.

"No! The thick dude with the awesome accent! HE'S gonna win this one!"

Meg remained in the crowd, her hands on her face and panicking on what to do.

"Guys, stop! STOOOOOP!"

Don had managed to pin Deanna down but it was clear to everyone that he was beginning to tire out. The power of the Turbo Pie was draining but even so there was no way he was going to let Deanna get the better of him, especially not in front of a crowd.

"Young lady, I'mma show you how we fight on the SEA!"

"Oh, BULL Don!" Deanna growled, struggling to push Don back "Y-You're all talk an' n-no MUSCLE, old man!"

"Programmers, I'm only FORTY-TWO! How is that OLD?!"

"STOP IT!" cried Meg, her voice shaking "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!"

Both wrestlers didn't notice the cries of agony before them, Meg leaping up to the stage and running towards them both. She had seen enough for the night, wanting nothing more for both of her friends to stop before they really got hurt.

"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!" sobbed Meg, tears streaming everywhere "I never wanted to see you fight like this! Please stop!"

"Not until Don apologizes!" Deanna snarled.

"FOR WHAT?!"

"Donald, Deanna, can't you hear me?!" the other Nicelander wailed "This is nuts! We have the entire arcade gawking at us and you're STILL too preoccupied to notice how much you're hurting each other?! Aren't you two FRIENDS?!"

Friends mean nothing when you've consumed so many Turbo Pies and received a rather painful blow to the bosom!

The crowd continued to chant for the two fighters, Meg feeling more and more corned by the shouts and jeers. Her room felt like it was starting to spin, it felt like everything was closing in around her. She only wanted what was best for everyone, she only wanted the best for EVERYONE!

"You want a fight?!" she yelled "FINE!"

Meg moved back and with a pathetic like squeal of a yell, she jumped on BOTH Don and Deanna, the two splitting apart as another person fell on them.

"GAH!"

"AURGH!"

"Now is this good enough?!" Meg said, slapping Don on his chest but her hits were so weak they were barely registering to the man.

"What are ya-?!"

Meg then turned towards Deanna, pulling the woman's arm "I'm giving everyone what they wanted! They wanna see Nicelander fights! FINE!"

"Honey, calm down!"

"WHY SHOULD I!?" the smaller Nicelander yelled "You don't care! You don't care about ANYTHING other than showing off in front of everyone here!"

"Dear, that's not true. I was just trying to-!"

Meg slapped Deanna's hand away, backing away from the two "You're trying to WHAT!? You two could have stopped at any time but you kept going! You just wanted to show off didn't you?!"

Deanna continued to hold a floundering Don in a strong hold, the man trying to pull back.

"I'M GONNA GET YA WHEN WE GET BACK HOME!"

"Is this the best time to ask this?!"

"If you care about all this fighting, then fine!" the periwinkle Nicelander said angrily, crossing her arms "But I'm going home! I don't want to hang out with such violent-!"

Wrong step.

Had Meg watched where she was going, she would have noticed the fact that the last step from the grandstand to the floor was a rather BIG one, the woman finding herself falling forward and dropping like a rock.

"MEGAN!" both Don and Deanna cried, suddenly forgetting their own spat and diving right towards Meg, all three of them heading towards the floor!

**_*POOF!*_**

"OOF!"

Meg let out a little squeak as she landed on the ground but to her surprise, the ground she had fallen upon was rather soft.

Rather squishy.

"Hmm?"

She opened an eye, seeing that she was sitting upon her neighbors but no longer were they in their Blissed form.

"We're back?"

Once more, the trio were their normal, small, chubby Nicelander selves!

"WE'RE BACK!" Lucy cried in joy, reaching down and hugging both Deanna and Don, not seeing the aggravated looks on either of their face "Oh, I'm so glad everything is back to normal!"

"Normal…." huffed Deanna "Riiiiight….."

"_Uuuurgh…._" moaned Don, his stomach lurching inside of him "_I swear, I'm gonna kick Lucy's butt when I see her…._"

"Can we please not fight anymore? Please?" Meg asked sweetly, Don looking up and feeling the very weight of her guilt crashing onto him. He moaned again, pulling himself out of the pile only to pop out and land on his face.

"_Trust me, Meg. I'm in no condition to…._"

*lurch*

"URPHR." The man choked, rising to his feet "_I need to-_"

Don took off, pushing the crowd away in his haste.

"Donald? DONALD?!"

"**_BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURGH!_**"

"Yup, Turbo pie will do that to ya…." said Deanna, rolling her eyes.

"GAH! I've got Nicelander puke on my shoes!"

Meg was elated to be back to her own self but she, Don, and Deanna weren't the only three going through their own little 'transformation.'

+In Burger Time+

"Should we leave?" asked Mary.

"Yes, yes that would be a capital idea…." Gene said, slinking back towards the kitchen "Maybe then we can-!"

"Surge, what are YOU doing here?" called someone from the front of the game.

Both Nicelanders jolted back, throwing themselves into the kitchen.

"Great, he's here?!"

"I'm looking for two unknown characters who have been going around with stolen IDS. I've been checking around and I've heard that they may be hiding out here."

Mr. Pickle looked back towards Peter with a guilty look "Um, Pete? We have some trouble in the front?"

"Yeah?"

"Surge here is confident that some criminals came here tonight. Care to correct him on that notion?"

"Sir, sir. I can assure you that no one suspicious has come here tonight!" Peter smiled as he looked up at Surge.

**_*CLANK!*_**

"_OW!_"

Peter didn't flinch but Surge knew better.

A suspicious sound? That could only become from SOMEONE suspicious!

"Really?" the man said as he arched a brow "Mind if we had a look then?"

Surge pushed his way towards the back of the kitchen, both Gene and Mary panicking as the man got closer.

"Okay, count of three, run like hell and don't look back!" said Gene.

"Agreed!" said Mary.

"One, two-!"

**_*POOF!*_**

The two squeaked, feeling as if the floor had been pulled from under then. They both fell forward, Mary tumbling on top of and causing the man to let out a painful yell.

"Gene? Mary?"

The two looked back, seeing Surge standing over them "Are you alright?"

"O-Oh course we are!" Gene laughed nervously, trying to hide his eye "We just-!"

"Goodness, Mayor!" the man said as he looked down "What in the world happened to your face?!"

"Oh-oh THIS? I just-!"

"He just protected me from these two HORRIBLE people!" Mary said suddenly, leaping in front of Surge "It was AWFUL! This really chunky man and his freaky looking girlfriend calm rushing in here and tried to kidnap me! But then Gene swooped in and kicked the man in the knee!"

"Uh, Mary?"

"The man punched him but I don't think they got that far! Not with the way they're shaped!"

"I knew they were here." Surge cursed to himself "Don't worry you two. I'll get them and once I do, I'll make them PAY for what they did!"

"Oh thank you, thank you." Said Mary in a sweet voice, clutching her hands together "You might want to get started now though, dear. They may have gotten away!"

Surge said not another word as he bolted from the door, leaving both Nicelanders alone. Gene looked over towards his fiancé, in disbelief that she was able to spin a lie that fast.

"You don't have to say anything, dear." The woman smiled smugly "How about I get you another burger? Or two?"

It seemed that wherever there was a Nicelander, a small *POOF* happened. In DDR, Tony returned to normal just as the Polkamon started to play, in Mario Tennis both Nolan and Roy were just being offered another slice of tea cake when their *POOF!* happened.

It seemed that throughout the arcade, there was a small *POOF!* and there was a small Nicelander.

Finally, after so much chaos, after so much trouble it seemed that things were back to normal.


	12. Finale

Finale

"_Shhh! SHHH! We have to get in before anyone notices us!_"

"_As if I didn't figure that out!_"

It was nearing three in the morning as Mary and Gene slipped their way into Niceland, trying to be as discrete as they could, a hard thing to do when even their tip-toeing made little pings and pops as they hopped along.

"_Ow!_"

"_You're eye okay?_" asked Mary in concern.

"_D-Don't worry about me dear!_" the mayor grimaced "_Let's just get you into bed before-_GAH!"

The Nicelander let out a cry as he ran into another body, both he and the mysterious figure going down. The mayor groaned as he rolled over on his side, putting his hand to his head.

"Okay, who's blocking the way?"

"Relax, Genie…" came another voice, sounding just as tired as he was.

"Dee-Dee?"

Deanna picked herself up and adjusted her glasses "Who else?"

The mayor was relieved, not only glad to see that the others were making their way back to the apartment but that he and Mary weren't the only ones trying to sneak in. Of course, with this knowledge, Gene used it to play the part of stuffy mayor once more, walking right up to Deanna and giving her an angry look.

"You guys! You have NO idea what trouble Mary and I went through looking for you!" the mayor scolded "And what happened to Felix?! When we got out of here earlier, he was nowhere to be found!"

"Trust me, he WAS fine when we left…." Lucy chuckled from behind the mayor. Gene turned, seeing Tony and Lucy walking up, the younger of the two smiling from ear to ear "Well, I sure did have fun!"

"Blugfhr, YOU!" growled Don, stumbling his way over to Lucy "YOU'RE the reason I feel like crap now! I promised you when we got home I was gonna throw your butt in a closet and now-!"

"An' NOW, its time for you to rest…." Meg said sadly, pulling the man back "Don, you're a wreck. Whatever trouble you have with Lucy, let's try to sort it out AFTER work, alright?"

Don prepared to say something but the painful wave of nausea hit him again. His face paled as he slumped over Meg, the smaller woman crying out as she was unable to hold up against his weight.

"O-okay! That sounds like a -**_OOOAARUGH!_**" the man moaned sickly "_I feel like I'm gonna vomit again…."_

"Don't do it on me!" Meg said, jumping out of the way, only causing Don to fall on his face.

"And everyone else?" asked Mary "Where are they?"

"We're here…" said Nolan, the others following after him "Well, we can say that this was an exciting weekend!"

"One that I don't want to repeat!" Gene huffed, crossing his arms "Is it just me or ever since Ralph game-jumped have things gotten more hectic here!"

"I won't complain. I like the excitement!" smiled Lucy.

"Dear, we are going to have us a talk…" Mary said "A nice LONG talk."

Gene turned towards the apartments, noticing that the only lights that were on were those of Nel's apartment, everyone else's dark.

"Say, you mean Felix isn't back yet?"

"He's NOT?" said Tony "Ya'd think he'd come back to wait for us so what-?"

"This is HUMILIATING!" screeched an unfamiliar voice in the distance.

"Speak for yourself! At least you two look halfway decent!" said a second.

"WHAT!? LOOK AT ME! I LOOK LIKE-!" roared the third, its squeaky anger echoing throughout the entire front end of the game.

The Nicelanders all turned, seeing three figures approaching them from the distance, seemingly unaware of the tiny people before them. At first, the Nicelanders were afraid that several people they had disturbed during the day were coming back for a bit of repayment but as they got closer….

"Oh my…PROGRAMMERS!"

The three figures stopped in their tracks, their eyes meeting the Nicelanders.

Everything was still, everything was silent.

No one could say a word and how could they?

Before the Nicelanders stood Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun.

And all three of them had been BLISSED.

"FELIX?!"

Felix looked away in pure humiliation as his cheeks burned bright, his usual work attire replaced with a silly little blue dress and a beret, his new feminine features just as outlandish as his attire.

Big blue eyes that were twenty percent brighter!

Cheeks redder than a rose!

Short brown hair that ended in perfect little curls!

Blue! So much powder blue!

So say that a BLISSED Felix wasn't a sight to behold….

Ralph didn't fare any better, the HUGE man translating to a HUGE woman, HER hair styled in red pigtails that jutted from each side of his head, her overalls replaced with a tattered dress and both the nails on his fingers and toes slathered with the most outlandish shade of pink nail lacquer.

But Calhoun.

Out of everyone there, CALHOUN had gotten it the WORST.

Not only had she been Blissed into a dress….she had been Blissed into a NICELANDER.

The true Nicelanders stood stunned before the lot of them, Gene clearly trying to hold back his laughter but failing as he bit his lip, his face gradually turning red and a smile fighting its way on his face.

"You have GOT to be kiddin' me…." said Lucy.

"D-Don't think you're getting off scott-free!" said Calhoun, her voice HIGHER pitched than normal.

That was it. THAT was the thing that sent Gene off.

"_PPPPPPPFT-__**HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!**_"

The mayor was overcome with laughter as he stepped back, his sides aching "N-NO! PLEASE! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!"

"So…Demitri?" asked Mary.

"Demitri…" the three others said, not sure who to be angrier at; the vampire or the mayor who was still laughing.

"Okay, okay. That's enough chunky-butt!" Mary glared as she pinched Gene on his nose.

"NYAGH!"

"So, how long did he say THIS would last?"

"Does it really matter?" growled Calhoun, her chubby cheeks puffing out adorably "Spending FIVE minutes like this is punishment enough! No offense…"

Gene snorted again as he wriggled himself free from his fiancé's hold, Calhoun's voice too much for him.

"I-I'm sorry, young lady b-b-but I- **_PFFTAHAHAHHA!_**"

"Gene, you butt!" Mary growled, kicking Gene in his rear "You keep this up and it's no Burger Time for a week!"

"But it's WORTH it!"

"A MONTH THEN!"

"A-aw, c-come on! I just **_HHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!_**" Gene turned and ran as fast as he could, his laughter echoing throughout the entire game

"COME BACK HERE, FAT BOY!" Mary yelled, going after her fiancé, tackling him on the ground just as he was an inch from the entrance.

Ralph rubbed HER temples, groaning in anger "I'm glad that Vanellope isn't around to see this. We'd never hear the end if she-!"

"Hey Stink-Breath!" called a familiar voice "I heard there was somethin' wrong here! Should I-?"

"_Aw crap…._"

* * *

"Mmmmm, Norwood?" sighed Nel, turning over towards the red-head next to her in bed.

"Yeah?" yawned the man.

The small Nicelander pulled her bangs from her eyes, looking at both up and down. She smirked, as she pulled the man's cheek "Looks like ya've gone from 'Annoying Butt with Some Height' back down to 'Annoying Butt that's Shaped Like a Ball'!"

Norwood pulled Nel closer, kissing her on the forehead. He could care less what he or his love looked like; he had just had the BEST day ever in his opinion.

"Baby, as long as I'm YOUR annoying butt, then I'm okay with it!"

"Hey, isn't it funny that everyone is gonna get in trouble because they locked Felix in a closet an' left….an' we won't because we stayed here an' made out all day?"

"See. If this day has taught us anythin' Nel, it's that sex is wonderful an' will keep ya outta trouble!"


End file.
